Iran detains internationally acclaimed filmmaker who backed opposition in postelection turmoil

Iranian filmmaker who backed opposition detained

TEHRAN, Iran — An internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker who backed the country’s opposition has been detained, the Tehran prosecutor said Tuesday.

Jafar Panahi was taken into custody late Monday from his Tehran home, along with another person who was in his company, Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said.

The prosecutor said the detention was not political and that the filmmaker was suspected of committing some unspecified “offenses,” according to the official IRNA news agency.

The prosecutor did not elaborate but said the case was under investigation.

“The detention of Jafar Panahi is not related to his artistic profession and has no political aspect,” Dowlatabadi said.

Panahi supported the opposition following the disputed June presidential election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner. He was briefly detained last summer when he visited the gravesides of the victims of Tehran’s post-election unrest and was later banned from traveling abroad.

Several of his films have been banned from showing in Iran.

Panahi, 49, has won awards at the Chicago, Cannes and Berlin film festivals.

Meanwhile, the opposition Web site Kaleme said Panahi was arrested as he hosted over a dozen guests at his home. It said that Panahi’s wife and daughter were also detained and that security agents subsequently searched the family’s home.

Ahmadinejad’s re-election has been challenged by a range of public figures, including filmmakers and singers who have expressed support for the opposition and criticized the harsh government crackdown on street protesters.

The opposition contends Ahmadinejad won through fraud and that opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was the rightful winner.