Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi remains in prison, even though he has not been formally charged with anything. His wife (who was also arrested in the original roundup at Panahi’s house – and was released a week later) says she has not been allowed to see him, and is being kept in the dark about the whole thing. Story here. 50 Iranian filmmakers have written an open letter calling for Panahi’s release.
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Sheila, *directly* as a result of reading your posts about Panahi, I’ve become very interested in this case.
For those interested: there are at least three things you can do to help Panahi secure his
freedom:
1. Sign this simple petition:
http://bit.ly/c8M6Xj
calling for Panahi’s immediate release.
2. Contact the State Department 202-647-6575 or via email here:
http://bit.ly/a3lXp4
(Click on the the “Email a question/comment” tab and choose “Secretary
of State” as your topic).
Ask Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration to advocate for his
immediate release.
3. Join the Facebook page I just created, “Free Jafar Panahi”:
http://bit.ly/9ltwfG
Kathy – awesome information and suggestions. Thank you so much. I hope you’ve gotten a chance to see some of his films as well!
I’m going to see Offside here in New York at the end of this month – it’s playing at BAM as part of their “Muslim women in cinema” series – and I’m very excited about it. Couldn’t come at a better time.