Iranian filmmakers arrested for ‘inciting unrest’

• Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad arrested over events relating to building collapse.
• A 10-story building that was under construction in Abadan, Khuzestan, fell on May 23.
• The death of 43 people sparked angry protests, many faced tear gas, warning shots and arrests.

TEHRAN: Iranian media said late Friday that two film directors had been arrested for “inciting unrest” after a building fell and killed someone in the southwest of the country in May.

The Iranian media stated that award-winning filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and his collaborator Mostafa Aleahmad were arrested in relation to the building collapse that provoked violent protests.

The Iranian media stated, “In the midst of the heart-breaking incident in Abadan’s Metropol, (the filmmakers) were involved in inciting unrest and disrupting the psychological security of  society.”

On May 23, the 10-story Metropol building that was under construction in Abadan, in the southern province of Khuzestan, collapsed, killing 43 people and provoking protests in solidarity with the victims’ families.

Demonstrators wanted to bring the “incompetent officials” who caused the disaster to court and punish them. Many of them were met with tear gas, warning shots, and arrests.

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Rasoulof led a group of Iranian filmmakers in writing an open letter to the security forces asking them to “lay down their arms.” They did this because people were angry about the “corruption, theft, incompetence, and persecution” that led to the fall of Abadan.

Rasoulof, 50, received the Golden Bear, the top prize at the Berlin Feature Festival, for his film “There Is No Evil” in 2020, but was unable to claim the award in person since he was prohibited from leaving Iran.

After the presentation of his 2017 film “A Man of Integrity” at Cannes, where it received the top award in the “Un Certain Regard” competition, his passport was taken.

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