Rasoulof, whose 'There Is No Evil' received the Golden Bear for Greatest Movie in Berlin in 2020, was not too long ago launch from jail on medical grounds.
Dissident Iranian director Mohammed Rasoulof, who was not too long ago launched from jail on medical grounds, now faces new fees that would land him again in jail.
Iranian authorities have introduced three recent fees in opposition to the director, accusing him of unlawful
meeting and collusion in opposition to nationwide safety, of insulting the regime management, and of spreading propaganda in opposition to the state. If discovered responsible by the Revolutionary Court docket, Rasoulouf may obtain a brand new eight-year jail sentence.
Rasoulof, an acclaimed director whose movies have received prizes in Berlin and Cannes, is among the many most distinguished of the tens of hundreds of Iranians which have been imprisoned in Iran over the previous yr for protesting in opposition to the federal government. Rasoulof was incarcerated final July after posting on social media calling on Iranian safety forces to cease their violent assaults on demonstrators. Formally, he was imprisoned to serve out a two-year sentence initially introduced in opposition to him in 2011 and 2019 for allegedly spreading propaganda in opposition to the state.
His arrest got here earlier than the loss of life, in police custody, of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an occasion that triggered nation-wide protests. In response, the Iranian authorities has been brutal in its efforts to crack down on protestors and to squash any criticism of the regime on-line.
Over the weekend, Iranian authorities granted Rasoulouf medical depart for an important surgical procedure and launched him from Tehran’s infamous Evin jail. On Monday, he was given his launch order, which means he won't need to return to jail to complete his unique sentence.
However the brand new fees means he will not be free for lengthy.
“All of it is determined by how the court docket reacts to the brand new fees,” Farzad Pak, a good friend of Rasoulof and producer of his Golden Bear successful drama There Is No Evil, instructed The Hollywood Reporter.
Rasoulof’s launch got here shortly after that of fellow filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was set free of Evin jail on Feb. 3 after asserting he was happening a starvation strike. Panahi had been imprisoned after going to inquire after Rasoulof and fellow imprisoned filmmaker Mostafa Al-Ahmad.