Over 150 Filmmakers Demand Immediate Release of Navid Mihandoost

More than 150 filmmakers and artists issued a statement on Tuesday, February 8, calling for the immediate release of Navid Mihandoost, a director imprisoned in Evin Prison. The signatories of this statement referred to the 'right to conditional release that applies to all prisoners after serving one-third of their sentence' and stated: 'We demand the immediate release of our colleague Reza (Navid) Mihandoost, who has served more than half of his three-year sentence.' This statement was signed by prominent figures such as Jafar Panahi, Touraj Aslani, Laleh Eskandari, Mostafa Al Ahmad, Parviz Jahed, Manijeh Hekmat, Sahar Dolatshahi, Soroush Sehat, Behtash Sanaeiha, Hana Kamkar, and Kaveh Farnam. Navid Mihandoost, a writer and filmmaker, was arrested on August 20, 2023, and transferred to Evin Prison to serve a three-year sentence. According to Neda Mihandoost, the imprisoned director's sister, Navid was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence during the protests of November 2019 and sentenced to three years in prison for 'acting against national security through membership and collaboration with anti-regime groups.' Neda Mihandoost previously mentioned that Navid should have been free to bring honor to his country, as one of his works was being screened in Brazil, but he is currently imprisoned. In a video message before his imprisonment, Navid emphasized that 'apart from the documentary Taj Khar, no other films have been made regarding the victims of 2019 or the girls of the Revolution Street.' Previously, 180 filmmakers and writers, in a letter referencing the film 'Taj Khar,' directed by Navid (Reza) Mihandoost, criticized the accusation of making a documentary film 12 years ago that has not been broadcast or released until now, stating that it relates to a journalist who was residing and active in the country at that time. They called this accusation 'retroactive application of the law' and criticized it. The film 'Taj Khar' addresses the life and journalistic activities of Masih Alinejad, a presenter and commentator for the Tablet program on Voice of America, in Iran. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned the Iranian government's violent actions against the people of Iran under various pretexts and the continuous and repeated violations of the rights of Iranian citizens, including the right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, by the Islamic Republic.