Mehdi Mahmoudian, Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter for 'It Was Just an Accident,' Arrested in Iran

Mehdi Mahmoudian, who is nominated for an Oscar this year for co-writing the film It Was Just an Accident, was arrested on Saturday (January 31).

It is said he was taken into custody in Tehran after condemning the actions of Ali Khameni, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Two others who signed the statement were also reportedly arrested.

Director Jafar Panahi released a statement after the arrest. He also was one of the signors.

Jafar released a lengthy statement on the arrest, which you can read in full below.

Keep reading to find out more…

Jafar Panahi: I met Mehdi Mahmoudian in prison. From the very first days, he stood out—not only because of his calm demeanor and kind conduct but also because of a rare sense of responsibility toward others. Whenever a new prisoner arrived, Mehdi would try to provide them with basic necessities and, more importantly, offer reassurance. He became a quiet pillar inside the prison—someone inmates of all beliefs and backgrounds trusted and confided in.

We spent seven months behind bars together. A few months after his release, while I was working on the screenplay for It Was Just an Accident, I asked him to help refine the dialogue. His nine years of imprisonment had given him direct, lived knowledge of the judicial system and prison life. Also, his extensive fieldwork in human rights had made him a reliable and authoritative source for consultation.

I remember during the shooting of It Was Just an Accident, we filmed the thirteen-minute shot of tying the interrogator to a tree one night, from dusk to dawn, but it didn’t turn out right. The following night, I brought Mehdi to the set to help, drawing on his understanding of interrogators and the fine details we needed to get right. That night, with Mehdi’s help, we finally succeeded in capturing the shot.

Forty-eight hours before his arrest, we spoke on the phone and then exchanged a few messages. I sent him my last message at four in the morning. By noon the next day, there was no reply. I grew worried and contacted mutual friends; none of them had heard from him. A few hours later, BBC Persian officially announced that Mehdi Mahmoudian, along with Abdollah Momeni and Vida Rabbani, had been arrested.

Mehdi Mahmoudian is not just a human rights activist and a prisoner of conscience; he is a witness, a listener, and a rare moral presence—a presence whose absence is immediately felt, both inside prison walls and beyond them. (Via Variety.)