Iran arrests Oscar-nominated screenwriter after protest condemnation

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer of the film “It Was Just an Accident,” was arrested over the weekend in Iran.

Known for his long-standing human-rights activism, he had signed a statement condemning the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, The New York Times (NYT) reports, citing a human rights organisation.

The letter was signed by 17 prominent lawyers, artists, and activists and directly blamed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for recent killings and the arrest of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets nationwide.

The rights group said there was no information about the whereabouts of Mahmoudian or the other detainees.

Mahmoudian, who is also known for his work as a human-rights activist, has previously been detained in Iran.  He met filmmaker Jafar Panahi, the director and one of the co-writers of “It Was Just an Accident,” while both were imprisoned. 

After his release, Mahmoudian was invited to join the project because of his deep understanding of the prison system and his long-standing record of human rights advocacy, Panahi said in a statement on February 1.

“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 — a presence whose absence is immediately felt, both inside prison walls and beyond them,” Panahi said.

The arrests come amid more than a month of demonstrations in Tehran that initially erupted over economic hardship before spreading nationwide and evolving into broader demands for a new government.

As the protests expanded, security forces increasingly responded with deadly force. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened possible military intervention, further escalating tensions inside Iran.

By Jeyhun Aghazada