His wife and daughter have been released – Panahi is still detained. More here. It’s hard at times to get a feel for the truth, because official reports (and sometimes personal reports) are unreliable, due to censorship and also the fact that people “talking” are taking their lives into their hands. But it appears that Panahi was at work on a new film that was threatening:
Media reports said Panahi was arrested for making a film about the unrest which rocked the Islamic republic after the June 12 disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Panahi was producing “an anti-regime film with his colleagues but the security apparatus vigilantly discovered their moves and they were arrested,” said leading conservative news website Tabnak.
Opposition website Rahesabz echoed the report and said: “Intelligence officials said Panahi and a movie crew were making an unauthorised film about the incidents linked with the election at his home.”
But his son, Panah Panahi, has denied the reports.
And on Tuesday, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said Panahi was not arrested for political reasons or because he is an artist. He was “accused of some crimes and arrested with another person following an order by a judge.”
Well, isn’t that convenient. It’s not that he’s political or an artist, it’s because of OTHER crimes. Uh-huh.
Very glad his wife and daughter are out. Fingers crossed for Mr. Panahi. And selfishly, I am thrilled to hear about his new film. It’s been a long time since Offside, a long time for us fans to wait. The very fact that the regime is trying to stop him from proceeding means he’s hit the sweet spot. Paying a big price, though.
Well they had to make sure his wife and daughter weren’t…um…huh? They don’t know it but deep down they are ashamed of themselves. And they won’t realize it until too late and they are in whatever Hell they predict for their rivals.
I love your thought, Bren, about them being “ashamed”. I think that’s right on.
Especially with the eyes of the world upon them right now. It also makes me think of the thousands of nameless other Iranians who have been “detained” in such a manner, but who aren’t famous. The pressure of having people actually WATCHING – the hated “West” – yet the West who loves this Panahi guy – has to be infuriating for these people who feel “caught”.
They consistently ban Panahi from traveling – it is rare that he is allowed to fly to such and such film festival where he ultimately receives the top awards. Bah. It’s infuriating.
Hopefully there will be more news soon.