Iranian Filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof Detained Amid Building Collapse Protests

Iranian authorities have detained filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, along with other artists, musicians, and bloggers. Panahi was arrested on Monday after visiting a Tehran prosecutor's office to protest the earlier detention of Rasoulof and fellow filmmaker Mostafa Aleahmad. Both directors are previous winners of the Berlin International Film Festival's Golden Bear award—Panahi in 2015 for 'Taxi' and Rasoulof in 2020 for 'There Is No Evil.' Their arrests follow public anger over a 10-story building collapse in Abadan in May that killed 43 people, which critics link to government corruption. Thirteen people, including local officials, were arrested after the disaster, but many accuse the government of evading responsibility. Panahi has faced prior restrictions, including a 20-year filmmaking ban imposed in 2010 and repeated travel denials. Rasoulof was also arrested in 2017 after screenings of his film 'A Man of Integrity,' which depicts a goldfish farmer fighting corporate oppression. Iran's Judiciary Chief, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eje'i, issued a statement describing some individuals as 'the regime's arch enemies' who promote vulgarity, calling for legal action against those committing public offenses and identifying foreign-backed movements encouraging immorality.