Mohammad Rasoulof arrested in Iran

Golden Bear awardee has spoken out against police violence

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2020 with his masterpiece "There Is No Evil". Now he and his colleague Mostafa Al-Ahmad have been arrested in Iran and put in solitary confinement in Evin prison for posting a statement on social media in the wake of a violent government crackdown. According to the state news agency IRNA, the two directors were arrested for posting a call to Iranian security forces to stop using weapons under the hashtag #put_your_gun_down following protests and clashes with police in the southwestern city of Abadan in May. The protests were triggered by a building collapse that killed 41 people. In addition to Mohammad Rasoulof, more than seventy other filmmakers have signed the appeal against police violence. Among the filmmakers who inquired about him was Jafar Panahi, whom the authorities immediately arrested as well.