Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter Arrested in Iran for Criticizing Regime

Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer of “It Was Just an Accident,” was one of several people detained after signing a letter objecting to the crackdown on protests.Mehdi Mahmoudian, a political activist and screenwriter, during an interview in Tehran in 2021.Credit...The Yomiuri Shimbun, via Associated PressFeb. 1, 2026, 9:43 p.m. ETAn Iranian screenwriter nominated for an Academy Award was arrested this weekend after signing a statement condemning his government for its deadly crackdown on protesters, a human rights group reported.Mehdi Mahmoudian, a co-writer of the film “It Was Just an Accident,” was among several signatories to the letter who were detained on Saturday, according to the United States-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.Seventeen prominent lawyers, artists and activists signed the letter, which blamed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the recent killings and arrests of thousands of protesters who took to the streets across the country.There was no information about where Mr. Mahmoudian and other signatories were being held, the news agency said. It also was not clear what they were being charged with, and there has been no public comment from the government, BBC Persian reported on Saturday. The news outlet cited Hossein Razzagh, a prominent activist.On Sunday, BBC Persian reported that Mr. Mahmoudian had spoken to a lawyer, and a post on Mr. Mahmoudian’s social media said that he had briefly contacted his family to inform them of his arrest and health, but that he was not allowed to provide further details.The arrests come after more than a month of demonstrations in the capital, Tehran, initially over economic hardship. The protests quickly spread and turned into widespread calls for a new government.As the demonstrations grew, the protesters were increasingly met with deadly force. President Trump has threatened to intervene with possible military actions, increasing tensions inside Iran.The letter held Ayatollah Khamenei directly accountable for the government’s violent response to the demonstrations and for “the repressive structure of the regime.”ImageA tax office building that was burned during the protests in Iran, as seen in this photograph taken during a tour for international media.Credit...Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times“This authoritarian apparatus has relied on mass killings to ensure its survival while ignoring the basic and inalienable rights of citizens — including the fundamental right to seek change in the political system,” it said.The signers called for the prosecution of those behind the repression.Mr. Mahmoudian, who has also been a human-rights activist, is no stranger to detention in Iran. He met Jafar Panahi, the director and one of the co-writers of “It Was Just an Accident,” when both were in prison. After his release, Mr. Mahmoudian was asked to join the project because of his insights into the prison system and his longtime track record fighting for human rights, Mr. Panahi said in a statement on Sunday.“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,” Mr. Panahi said.Noting that he had personally spent seven months behind bars with him, Mr. Panahi said that his co-writer’s years of imprisonment “had given him direct, lived knowledge of the judicial system and prison life.” He added that “his extensive fieldwork in human rights had made him a reliable and authoritative source for consultation.”Mr. Panahi and Mr. Mahmoudian co-wrote “It Was Just an Accident” with Nader Saeivar and Shadhmer Rastin. The film is in the running for best original screenplay and is also under consideration for best international feature. It tells the story of former prisoners kidnapping a man who they think had tortured them.The film has won numerous awards already, including the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and best director, original screenplay and best international feature at the Gotham Awards last year.ImageThe Iranian director Jafar Panahi at a screening for “It Was Just an Accident” at the Marrakech International Film Festival in December.Credit...Mosa'Ab Elshamy/Associated PressMr. Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times, was inspired by stories he heard while at Evin Prison in Tehran, including from Mr. Mahmoudian. The director was sentenced in absentia to a year in prison late last year while he was abroad promoting “It Was Just an Accident.” Mr. Panahi said in his statement that he also signed the letter condemning the Iranian regime.Mr. Mahmoudian drew international attention in 2021, when he was part of a group of activists and lawyers who were arrested while planning to sue the government over its handling of the pandemic, including its ban on importing vaccines made in the United States and Britain.Mr. Panahi said he had last exchanged with his co-writer shortly before Mr. Mahmoudian was arrested on Saturday. “I sent him my last message at 4 in the morning,” he said. “By noon the next day, there was no reply.”Farnaz Fassihi and Sanam Mahoozi contributed reporting.Ephrat Livni is a Times reporter covering breaking news around the world. She is based in Washington.SKIP