Iranian director Jafar Panahi released from jail after going on hunger strike

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been released on bail after starting a hunger strike to protest against his almost seven-month detention, supporters said on February 3.

The director had been arrested months before the current anti-regime protests erupted, but his imprisonment became a symbol of the plight of artists speaking out against the authorities, France24 reports.

Panahi has been released from Tehran's Evin prison "two days after starting his hunger strike for freedom", the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said on Twitter, while Iran's reformist Shargh newspaper posted an image of Panahi jubilantly embracing a supporter.

His wife Tahereh Saeedi posted a picture on Instagram of Panahi being driven from prison in a vehicle.

The prize-winning director was arrested in July and went on a dry hunger strike on February 1 to protest his continued detention.

"Mr Panahi was temporarily released from Evin prison with the efforts of his family, respected lawyers, and representatives of the cinema," Iran's House of Cinema, which groups together industry professionals, said in a statement.

The announcement that Panahi was going on a dry hunger strike sparked a wave of concern across the world about the director, who has won prizes at all of Europe's top three film festivals.

"Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against this inhumane behaviour with my dearest possession – my life," Panahi had said in the statement published by his wife.

"I will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison," he said.