SafiFilm and Defense of Judiciary Punishments

Following the events after the 2009 presidential election, and with the aim of countering what has been termed the 'soft war of the enemy', the Islamic Republic, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has initiated significant media and propaganda ventures. These ventures consist of young individuals and students who are either members of the Basij or considered active 'ideological' forces in cyberspace. Over the past three years, these centers have produced numerous audio-visual products, focusing on creating what was previously done sporadically by traditional cultural and propaganda centers on a larger scale. Although some of these ventures initially faced opposition and complaints from state media, the volume of products aligned with the regime's policies increased sufficiently for the IRGC to eventually gain the approval of Ali Khamenei to launch the television network 'Ofogh', which primarily employs former or current members of these organizations. The 'Ofogh' network was officially inaugurated on March 1 of this year after a year of trial operations and currently broadcasts five hours of programming daily. One of the most significant entities formed after the 2009 events is the documentary institution 'SafiFilm', affiliated with the 'Atlas' media complex under the IRGC, which has produced at least 70 short and feature-length audio-visual documentaries to date. The most well-known products of this center include the production and broadcast of three films: 'Mosaf', 'Which Deviation', and 'Silent Battle', targeting Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and discussing the impact of international sanctions against Iran, respectively. The documentary 'Mosaf' criticizes the actions of Akbar Hashemi and Mohammad Khatami under the pretext of examining the 'backgrounds of the seditions of 1999 and 2009'. 'Which Deviation' addresses the disagreements between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei with Ali Khamenei regarding domestic and foreign policy. The distribution and broadcast of the controversial documentary 'I Am Rouhani', which covers five decades of Hassan Rouhani's political activities—including his role in the MacFarlane affair, the opposition of second-term parliament representatives to Mir Hossein Mousavi's appointment as prime minister, and the attack on Tehran University dormitory on July 9, 1999—was also managed by 'SafiFilm'. The documentary 'I Am Rouhani' stirred significant controversy in Iran's political landscape, prompting Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, and Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture, to call for the judiciary to take action against those involved in its production and distribution. 'SafiFilm', which was established after the 2009 protests by a group of Basij student members from Sharif University of Technology, was initially named 'Safi Documentary Center'. Although it changed its name to 'SafiFilm' in May 2013 due to the significant production of short and long documentaries over three years, it has maintained a focus on universities, which it has prioritized from the beginning. 'SafiFilm', which has showcased most of its documentaries in universities, reportedly spent nearly a year studying the political, economic, and cultural conditions of the country before launching, aiming to produce and offer products based on the regime's priorities in these areas. Mohammad Reza Tajedin, the head of the economic desk of this institution, announced in 2013 that three specialized desks—'Economy', 'Islamic World', and 'Lifestyle'—were established to monitor developments in these areas in Iran. He also described the main nature of 'SafiFilm' as taking control of media tools to serve the regime's issues. The institution, which sells its products through nationwide representatives and also via the internet, has taken on the online sales of some works produced by other aligned institutions. Officials from this institution have stated that due to 'high demand' for holding in-person and virtual documentary filmmaking courses, they have ventured into training and educating potential documentary filmmakers in addition to producing documentaries. Mohammad Sadegh Bateni, the education officer of this institution, mentioned that he and his colleagues are seeking long-term and comprehensive programs to train 'committed' documentary filmmakers. In connection with this program, 'SafiFilm' has also begun participating in the third student short film festival 'Madreseh'. This institution has announced its support for such festivals, which play a significant role in training future builders of this field through education for interested individuals. The latest product of 'SafiFilm' is the documentary 'Eye for an Eye', which the institution's website states has received a 'very warm' reception from students. The film's director, Mohammad Ali Sadri Nia, addresses acid attacks and examines the human rights dimensions of the eye-for-an-eye punishment and what has been termed the 'double standard' of Western media regarding this phenomenon in recent years. This documentary was first screened in February 2015 at the Management Faculty of Tehran University, and 'SafiFilm' has announced that over 78 universities have requested to screen it. The institution welcomed the execution of an eye-for-an-eye punishment on March 3, 2015, in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj. Mid-March of this year, Iranian media reported that an individual accused of acid attacking a taxi driver in Qom had become blind in one eye after several years of imprisonment in Rajai Shahr Prison. Reports indicate that the accused was also given a deadline to pay the blood money and treatment costs of the acid attack victim to prevent the execution of the other eye-for-an-eye punishment. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic has also issued a ruling to blind another acid attack suspect, which has currently been suspended due to a two-month grace period granted to the second victim of acid attack 'in respect of the Fatimid days', but if the acid attacker does not pay for the victim's treatment during this period, the ruling will be executed. Amnesty International has described the execution of the eye-for-an-eye punishment against the acid attack suspect in Qom as 'horrific', 'brutal', and a sign of the 'cruelty' of the Islamic Republic's judicial system. Mohammad Hossein Razavi, the producer of the documentary 'Eye for an Eye', stated that this film was made in complete media silence to prevent any potential impact of 'noise' from domestic and foreign media on its production process, and 'SafiFilm' has prioritized supporting this documentary due to its impact. It seems that 'SafiFilm', by supporting the production of this documentary, has not only backed the cultural and political priorities of the Islamic Republic but has also sought to justify its actions that contradict human rights.