Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to eight years in prison

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been handed an eight-year prison sentence, as reported by his lawyer. In a statement on X, Rasoulof’s lawyer Babak Paknia detailed that Iran’s Islamic Revolution Court imposed an eight-year prison term on Rasoulof, along with flogging, a fine, and property confiscation. Paknia confirmed that the verdict was upheld in an appellate court and is now pending enforcement. The lawyer added that Rasoulof’s public declarations and his involvement in film and documentary production were cited as the primary grounds for the sentence. The court interpreted these activities as instances of collaboration aimed at undermining the security of the country.

The development follows Iranian authorities placing significant pressure on Rasoulof to withdraw his latest project, ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’, from the Cannes Film Festival. This coercion involved harassing the film’s producers and summoning actors for questioning, prohibiting them from leaving the country. Paknia, a human rights lawyer, had previously stated in a post on X that authorities summoned and interrogated various actors and producers involved in “Sacred Fig.”