Rakhshan Bani-Etemad was released after several hours of detention.
News of the arrest of a prominent Iranian filmmaker has spread on social media. A close friend of the filmmaker confirmed the news but said he was released a few hours later. According to a colleague of Mojtaba Mirtahmast, he too has been arrested.
On Monday evening, January 13, news of the arrest of Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, a famous Iranian screenwriter and director, by security forces was published on social media. After the news was spread on social media, one of his relatives confirmed the news.
The same source reported after some time that Bani Etemad had been released.
The veteran filmmaker had called on Tehran citizens in a statement to gather on Sunday for a memorial service for those killed in the Tehran plane crash.
Before the ceremony, he announced that he was withdrawing the invitation due to pressure.
A colleague of Mojtaba Mirtahmaseb, a film producer and director, has also been arrested.
Various positions
A number of Iranian filmmakers, including Masoud Kimiaei, Peyman Maadi, Parasto Golestani, Maryam Boubani, Pegah Ahangarani, and Sara Bahrami, had also announced that they would refrain from participating in the Fajr Festival due to the recent tragedies that have befallen the people, especially the downing of a Ukrainian plane by a direct missile fired by the Revolutionary Guards, killing 176 people.
Earlier, Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti wrote in a post on her Instagram account that appeared to be a reaction to the treatment of Iranian citizens during the protests over the targeting of a passenger plane in Tehran: "I fought this idea for a long time and didn't want to accept it; we are not citizens. We never were. We are prisoners. Millions of prisoners."
