Imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi has maintained his innocence in a letter penned from his prison cell and made public at the Cannes Film Festival.
The acclaimed director (The Circle) has been detained without charge in Iran's notorious Evin prison since March, when authorities arrested a number of activists and artists in fallout from the country's widespread anti-government protests. Panahi was arrested along with fellow filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof (writer/director, The White Meadows) and Mehdi Pourmoussa (assistant director on Rafi Pitts' The Hunter).
"I am innocent. I have not made any film against the Iranian regime," Panahi said in a letter that was smuggled out of Evin prison to be read on the steps of the Palais des Festivals by France's Culture Minister, Frederic Mitterrand (left).
The filmmaker reiterated that he would not sign a confession that was forced upon him.
2010 Cannes jury president Tim Burton had invited Panahi to sit on the 2010 Cannes Jury, and left a vacant seat at the opening ceremony as a visible reminder of the filmmaker's detention.
A host of international filmmakers have appealed for the director's release, and the International Federation of Film Critics, Fipresci, led by Klaus Elder, has joined the chorus of protest in issuing the following statement:
“Beginning of March, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi had been arrested by the police of his country. Over two months later, he's still in prison.
“The International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI, a non-profit, apolitical organization consisting of members from 68 countries worldwide, strongly protests the arrest and unjust confinement of filmmaker Jafar Panahi. In the collective view of FIPRESCI, Panahi is not only an outstanding filmmaker – he has merited the FIPRESCI Award at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and also received our "Grand Prix – Best Film of the Year" for "The Circle / Dayereh" – he is also, in our opinion, an honorable person and has earned the warmest respect from cinephiles and humanists alike from all over the world. What he is not, in our view, is a criminal. He can and should not be denied of freedom for his political opinion. We regard his imprisonment as a crime against both democracy as well as the most basic of human rights."
The Circle screens on SBS TWO at 9.05pm, tomorrow night.
Watch an archival interview with Jafar Panahi here.
