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| It Was Just An Accident |
Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of It Was Just An Accident, was arrested today in Iran. The arrest is believed to relate to his decision to sign a statement condemning the actions of the Iranian regime. Two other signatories to the statement, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni, have also been detained.
The film's internationally celebrated director, Jafar Panahi, who spent seven months in prison with him previously, condemned the arrest, saying that they had been exchanging messages shortly before it happened. He said "Mehdi Mahmoudian is not just a human rights activist and a prisoner of conscience; he is a witness, a listener and a rare moral presence whose absence is immediately felt."
The statement which apparently triggered the arrest charged Ayatollah Khamenei with responsibility for the crisis currently facing the country, calling his regime illegitimae and the killing of civilians by the security forces a crime against humanity.
Panahi himself has condemned the crackdown by the regime and called for international support for those speaking out against it.
