(9 May 2024)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cannes, France – 24 May 2013
1. Wide shot Mohammad Rasoulof walking next to pool
2. Various, director Mohammad Rasoulof gives interview
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cannes, France – 24 May 2013
3. STILL IMAGE: Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof poses during a photo call for the film "The Immigrant" (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin – 28 February 2020
4. Medium and pull out to wide of Mohammad Vadizadegan and Ehsan Mirhosseini posing at Berlin International Film Festival premiere of "There Is No Evil" (left to right) Shaghayegh Shourian , Baran Rasoulof, Jila Shahi and Mahtab Servati
5. Close of cellphone showing photo of director Mohammad Rasoulof, pan to another photo of director Mohammad Rasoulof on another cellphone held by actor Jila Shahi
6. Wide of director’s daughter, actress Baran Rasoulof, and actor Jila Shahi holding a phone with Mohammad Rasoulof’s photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Berlin – 29 February 2020
7. Medium of producer Farzad Pak, actress Baran Rasoulof and producer Kaveh Farnam posing with Golden Bear
8. Close of Golden Bear
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Baran Rasoulof, acttor and daughter of director Mohammad Rasoulof:
"I was very overwhelmed by a lot of mixed feelings – sadness, happiness, excitement, but all in all I’m very happy. I’m happy for my father and I’m happy that we got the chance to get such an amazing, special award."
10. Medium of producer Farzad Pak, actress Baran Rasoulof and producer Kaveh Farnam pose with Golden Bear
STORYLINE:
The award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings just ahead of his planned trip to the Cannes film festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Rasoulof, 51, known for his film “There Is No Evil," has become the latest artist targeted in a widening crackdown on all dissent in the Islamic Republic following years of mass protests, including over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.
While Iranian authorities haven’t acknowledged the sentence, Rasoulof and other artists who co-signed a letter urging authorities to “put your gun down” amid demonstrations over a 2022 building collapse that killed at least 29 people in the southwestern city of Abadan. In the time since, artists, athletes, celebrities and others have been called into questioning or faced prison sentences.
“This judgment is issued due to Mr. Rasoulof’s signing statements in support of the Iranian people,” his lawyer Babak Paknia told the AP. "These statements, along with his tweets and further social activities, were found to be instances of ‘action against national security.’”
Rasoulof faced trial in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, Paknia said.
The tribunals, often handling cases of those with Western ties later used in prisoner swaps by Iran, have been internationally criticized for not allowing those on trial to pick their own lawyers or even see the evidence against them in closed-door hearings.
The director also faces lashings, fines and asset seizures, his lawyer said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment over Rasoulof’s sentencing. He had been scheduled to head to Cannes for the premiere of his new film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”
He has faced repeated prison sentences and film bans in his native Iran, whose Shiite theocracy long has railed against Western-embraced artists as a part of a “soft war” against its policies. Yet Iran has become known on the international film circuit for daring, thought-provoking movies outlining the challenges of life in the Islamic Republic.
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