Rejection of Conditional Release Request for Navid Mihandoost in Appeals Court

Navid Mihandoost's sister, a imprisoned filmmaker, emphasized in an interview with Voice of America the "empty promises" of the Ministry of Culture and Cinema House and the psychological pressure imposed on the family, stating that despite one-third of her brother's prison term being served, judicial authorities are preventing his release. Neda Mihandoost mentioned that despite the prosecutor and judicial officer's agreement, Branch 36 of the Tehran Appeals Court rejected Navid Mihandoost's request for conditional release. Navid (Reza) Mihandoost, a director and filmmaker, was arrested by the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence in December 2019 and was temporarily released after two months. Neda Mihandoost stated that her brother faced charges of "acting against national security through membership and cooperation with anti-regime groups" and was sentenced to three years in prison. She noted that they have been pursuing his conditional release for months, adding that according to their own laws, a person who has served one-third of their sentence is eligible for conditional release, yet this request was rejected by Branch 36 of the Appeals Court despite the agreement from the judicial officer and prosecutor. She referred to "fruitless efforts" to pursue the case through the Cinema House, stating that they "even refrained from issuing a statement in support of him. They only claim to be a professional organization on the surface, while their budget comes from the government and the Ministry of Culture." Neda Mihandoost also pointed out the "multiple promises" made by officials for the release of this imprisoned director, mentioning that although her brother was sent on leave in December without a request, which was said to lead to conditional release, he was returned to prison while suffering from pneumonia. She added, "The Cinema House acts so conservatively that they do not even dare to issue a statement in support of Navid and only create psychological pressure on the family with empty promises." Previously, over 150 filmmakers and artists issued a statement demanding the immediate release of Navid Mihandoost, who is imprisoned in Evin Prison. Neda Mihandoost had also previously emphasized that he should have been free to bring pride to his country, but instead, he is imprisoned.