An Iranian revolutionary court has sentenced Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (Shiraz, 52 years old) to eight years in prison, lashings and the confiscation of his property for the crime of “collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the security of the country.”
“The main reason for issuing this sentence is the signing of statements and the making of films and documentaries, which according to the court, are examples of collusion and collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the security of the country,” The filmmaker’s lawyer, Babak Paknia, reported this Wednesday. The lawyer stated on the social network “Now the case has been referred to the execution of the sentences,” Paknia said.
Rasoulof, winner of the Golden Bear with The lives of others In 2020, he has had numerous problems with the country’s authorities and has been sentenced to prison terms on two occasions. He was arrested for the last time in July 2022 for criticizing the repression of protests sparked by the collapse of a building that caused dozens of deaths two years ago, and eight months later he was released.
The director’s last film, Seed of the Sacred Fig Tree, will be presented at the Cannes festival, which begins next week, and everything indicates that he will not be able to attend. Paknia reported last week that Iranian authorities were trying to get Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the competition and that several actors and crew members had been summoned and questioned.
“It is not clear whether Rasoulof, who has been banned from leaving the country since 2017 and has a new case in a revolutionary court, will be able to travel to Cannes to attend the screening of his film,” Paknia said then in X.
Death penalty for rapper Tomaj Salehi
In recent weeks, Iranian courts have convicted several people critical of the Government. Mahmoud Mehrabi was sentenced a few days ago to the death penalty for publishing information for “the manufacture of homemade weapons” during the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini after being arrested for not wearing the veil properly in 2022.
And two weeks ago, a revolutionary court sentenced rapper Tomaj Salehi to the death penalty for sedition, propaganda against the system and inciting riots for supporting those protests in which the end of the Islamic Republic was called for.