Mohammad Rasoulof, an Iranian filmmaker and director who was sentenced to one year in prison and two years ban on leaving the country and two years ban from membership in political and social parties, organizations, and groups on charge of “propaganda against the regime” was summoned by the Culture and Prosecutor’s Office to serve his prison sentence.
On Saturday, February 19th, 2020, his latest work, “There Is No Devil,” won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. He was not able to attend the festival due to the travel ban, and Mr. Rasoulof’s daughter, Baran Rasoulof, represented him and received the award on his behalf.
Earlier, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court Branch 26 sentenced Mohammad Rasoulof to one year in prison and two years ban on leaving the country and two years ban from membership in political and social parties, organizations, and groups on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”
An informed source told the Iranian Writers’ Association: “The sentence was communicated to Mr. Rasoulof on Saturday, July 20th, 2019.”
Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court has denied the Iranian filmmaker from leaving the country, while he already was on travel ban for several years.
The Iranian judiciary has accused this Iranian cinema producer of propaganda against the regime over issues raised by his last three films.
The court has told him that his films have portrayed the face of Iran as black and bitter and that he has no jurisdiction to criticize.
The trial was presided over by Judge Iman Afshari and held on July 14th, 2019.
The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who has been banned from leaving Iran for many years, won the festival’s Main prize in the UN Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival for the movie “A Man of Integrity” (‘Lerd’ in Persian). At the same time of the reward, Mr. Rasoulof was summoned in Iran to the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office on charges of propaganda against the system.
The subject of the movie “A Man of Integrity” (‘Lerd’ in Persian) is the extended corruption in Iran public offices.
He was arrested and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in a lower court while making a joint film with Jafar Panahi. The sentence was reduced to one year in the appeals court.
Mohammad Rasoulof has made seven films so far. None of his movies have been released in Iran.