Golden Bear-winning Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has gone on hunger strike in the country’s Evin prison in protest over his arrest in July.
In a statement on his wife Tahereh Saeidi’s Instagram page, Panahi said: “Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against these inhumane behaviors with my dearest possession, that is, my life.
“Therefore, I firmly declare that in protest against the extra-legal and inhumane behavior of the judicial and security apparatus and this particular hostage-taking, I have started a hunger strike since the morning of the 12th of Bahman, and I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release. I will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison.”
Panahi was arrested in Tehran in July to serve a six-year prison sentence for criticising the government, a judgment that was first handed down in 2010.
He was seized by the authorities after going to the prosecutors’ office with colleagues and lawyers to inquire about the earlier arrest of fellow Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.
Panahi was convicted of “propaganda against the system” in 2010, following his support for anti-government protests and a string of films that critiqued modern Iran. He was also barred from leaving the country and from making films. Panahi originally served two months in prison after his 2010 conviction before being granted a conditional release that was revocable.
In his statement, Panahi said: “According to the law… after more than ten years of non-execution, the sentence is subject to the passage of time and becomes unenforceable. Therefore, this arrest was more like banditry and hostage-taking than the execution of a judicial sentence.”
He added: “While we have seen that it takes less than 30 days from the time of arrest to the hanging of the innocent youth of our country, it took more than a hundred days to transfer my case to the branch with the intervention of security forces.”
“What is certain is that the behaviour of the bully and extra-legal security institution and the unquestioning surrender of the judicial authorities once again show the implementation of selective and tasteful laws. It is only an excuse for repression.”
Panahi is one of Iran’s best known filmmakers. His 1995 film The White Balloon won the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 1995. He won the Golden Leopard at Locarno for The Mirror in 1997, then the Golden Lion at Venice for The Circle in 2000. Taxi won the Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlinale.
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