Iranian director Jafar Panahi has gone on hunger strike. The filmmaker, who has been in prison since July, also refuses to take his medication. He thus protests against his wrongful imprisonment, his wife and son write in a statement on Instagram.
In the statement, Panahi states that he will not eat or drink anything and will not take any medication. “I will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is released from prison.”
Panahi, 62, has been detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison since July. He was arrested when he went to the Iranian capital for the trial of his colleague Mohammad Rasoulof. The Ministry of Justice then ruled that Panahi must serve the six-year prison sentence he had received in 2010 for criticizing the Iranian government.
The director has won several awards in his career, such as the Golden Lion at the famous Venice Film Festival. He received it in 2000 for his film The Circle. His latest movie, No Bearswas awarded the Special Jury Prize at the last edition of the Venice Film Festival.
