Some follow-up about renowned film director Mohammad Rasoulof. This is also a remind to pro-Hamas protestors that this type of suppression is what they support. Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker flees to Europe after prison and flogging sentence https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/13/midd...mad-rasoulof-flees-iran-intl-latam/index.html Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof says he has fled his home country to an undisclosed location in Europe after a court in Iran sentenced him to prison on national security charges. Rasoulof condemned the Iranian government in an Instagram post on Monday, calling it a tyrannical and oppressive regime, and posting a video that showed him crossing the country’s mountainous border. “If geographical Iran suffers beneath the boots of your religious tyranny, cultural Iran is alive in the common minds of millions of Iranians who were forced to leave Iran due to your brutality and no power can impose its will on it. From today, I am a resident of cultural Iran,” he said. In a separate statement dated May 12, Rasoulof said he had decided to escape Iran after his lawyers told him his prison sentence would be implemented on short notice. “I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile,” he said in that statement, which was provided by a spokesperson. CNN has reached out to Iranian authorities for comment. His lawyer Babak Paknia said last week that an Iranian court had sentenced Rasoulof to eight years in prison and flogging after it found his films and documentaries to be “examples of collusion with the intention of committing a crime against the security of the country.” Rasoulof is among several high-profile artists to have been caught up in a widening crackdown on dissent by Iranian authorities since nationwide protests broke out over the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly. Rasoulof, whose recent films have been critical of the Iranian government, was among a group of artists and filmmakers who signed a letter criticizing the violent response of security forces to quell a 2022 protest over a building collapse in the southwestern city of Abadan that killed more than 40 people. Rasoulof won a Golden Bear for best film at the Berlinale festival in 2020 for “There Is No Evil” and his film “A Man of Integrity” was recognized for a “Certain Regard” honor at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2017. The filmmaker’s latest work, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” is set to premiere at Cannes next week, but it’s unclear if he will be able to attend. “We are very happy and much relieved that Mohammad has safely arrived in Europe after a dangerous journey,” said Jean-Christophe Simon, the distributor for Rasoulof’s latest film. The Films Boutique and Parallel45 executive added that he hopes that Rasoulof will be able to attend the Cannes premiere for his film “in spite of all attempts to prevent him from being there in person.” Rasoulof said on Instagram that he will now work to quickly finish the last technical steps of his film’s post-production. “Many people helped to make this film. My thoughts are with all of them, and I fear for their safety and well-being,” he said, accusing the Iranian government of pressuring members of his production team with interrogations, court filings and travel restrictions. Rasoulof didn’t specify how he escaped Iran, saying only that he did it secretly with the help of friends and acquaintances. In 2022, an Iranian court sentenced Rasoulof to one year in prison and banned him from making films for two years on the charge of “propaganda against the system,” according to Human Rights Watch. Iranian authorities have previously arrested him multiple times and confiscated his passport because of his work, HRW said.
Iran -- an environment of oppression and terrorism. Keep in mind that this is what pro-Hamas protestors are supporting. Iran resurrects controversial internet bill putting VPN usage at risk Iranians could be further prevented from connecting globally https://www.techradar.com/computing...rsial-internet-bill-putting-vpn-usage-at-risk
The pro-Hamas protestors need to remember that this type of oppression is what they are supporting. Iran Nobel laureate says she faces new trial https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nnzln0ge1o Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi says she is facing a new trial after she accused the security forces of sexually assaulting women. In a message from Evin prison where she is being held, Ms Mohammadi said the trial relates to an audio post, in which she condemned a "full-scale war against women" by the Iranian regime. Ms Mohammadi has already served over 12 years in prison due to multiple convictions. Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili, said the court would convene on Sunday to address the new charges of "spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic". There has been no comment on the case from Iranian officials. In her message, posted on the Narges Foundation website, Ms Mohammadi said it was the fourth time in as many years she had been "dragged to the unjust and farcical courts’ table" due to her "protest and disclosure of the religious regime’s men’s sexual assault against women". The 52-year old Nobel laureate continued that this time she was being tried for speaking against "the bruising of the body and narrating the assault on [journalist and student] Dina Ghalaibaf", in an audio message. Ms Ghalibaf was reportedly detained after she accused the security forces of handcuffing and sexually assaulting her during a previous arrest at a metro station. She was later released. Ms Mohammadi is calling for a public trial with the presence of independent journalists, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, and her lawyers. She continued: "Witnesses, along with their lawyers, should be able to attend with guarantees of physical, mental, and legal security, and openly recount their assaults.” Ms Mohammadi has tirelessly campaigned for women's rights in Iran. She has been in and out of jail for two decades because of her activism. Her family has said that, as well as 12 years and three months of imprisonment, her sentences also include 154 lashes, two years of exile and various social and political restrictions. She has not seen her Paris-based husband and children for several years. Despite the numerous threats and arrests she has kept up her work to campaign against the mandatory headscarf. She won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her work fighting against the oppression of women in Iran. Her teenage children accepted the prize, at Oslo's city hall in December, and read her speech which had been smuggled out of prison. "I write this message from behind the high, cold walls of a prison. The Iranian people, with perseverance, will overcome repression and authoritarianism," Ms Mohammadi said. She added that young Iranians had "transformed the streets and public spaces into a place of widespread civil resistance", alluding to the protests that began in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly". The authorities in the Islamic Republic in recent weeks intensified a crackdown to enforce a strict Islamic dress code on women and arrest those who disobeyed, making use of video surveillance.
Helicopter carrying Iran's president suffers a 'hard landing,' state TV says, and rescue is underway A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a “hard landing” on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. Some began urging the public to pray for Raisi and the others on board as rescue crews sped through a misty, rural forest where his helicopter was believed to be. https://www.wral.com/story/rescuers...t-was-traveling-with-iran-president/21439596/
If camel-fukha there in Iran died in a crash, I am pretty sure that the students around the world will lower their Hamas flags to half-staff. I could be wrong. Maybe it will just be Harvard, UCLA, and Columbia.