Mehdi Mahmoudian worked on the script of Jafar Panahi's 'It Was Just An Accident', which won last year's Palme d'Or and is nominated for Best Screenplay and Best International Feature at this year’s Oscars.
Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Iranian co-writer of Jafar Panahi’s Oscar-nominated film It Was Just An Accident has been arrested in Iran for signing an open letter criticising the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the government for the handling of the protests that have shaken the country and resulted in countless deaths.
Neon, the US distributor of It Was Just An Accident, revealed that Mahmoudian was taken into custody in Tehran along with two other signatories, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni.
A total of 17 people signed the letter, including Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, and Mohammad Rasoulof, director of 2025 Oscar-nominee The Seed of the Sacred Fig, who is now living in exile in Germany.
In the letter, signatories have called out Khameni for authorizing the “mass and systematic killing of citizens” during the anti-regime protests that began in December and were sparked by the rampant inflation and cost of living crisis crippling the country.
Scroll down to read the full letter below.
The Iranian government has acknowledged more than 3,000 have been killed but human rights organizations estimate that the numbers is more likely to be in the tens of thousands.
Reacting to the arrest of Mahmoudian, former German Minister of Culture Claudia Roth strongly condemened the actions of the Iranian government, calling the arrest "an attack on artistic freedom and part of the government's systematic effort to silence critical voices."
Jafar Panahi also released a statement in the wake of Mahmoudian's arrest.
“I met Mehdi Mahmoudian in prison. From the very first days, he stood out - not only because of his calm demeanor and kind conduct but also because of a rare sense of responsibility toward others. Whenever a new prisoner arrived, Mehdi would try to provide them with basic necessities and, more importantly, offer reassurance. He became a quiet pillar inside the prison - someone inmates of all beliefs and backgrounds trusted and confided in.”
He continued: “We spent seven months behind bars together. A few months after his release, while I was working on the screenplay for It Was Just an Accident, I asked him to help refine the dialogue. His nine years of imprisonment had given him direct, lived knowledge of the judicial system and prison life. Also, his extensive fieldwork in human rights had made him a reliable and authoritative source for consultation.”
Panahi added: “Forty-eight hours before his arrest, we spoke on the phone and then exchanged a few messages. I sent him my last message at four in the morning. By noon the next day, there was no reply. I grew worried and contacted mutual friends; none of them had heard from him. A few hours later, BBC Persian officially announced that Mehdi Mahmoudian, along with Abdollah Momeni and Vida Rabbani, had been arrested.”
“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.”
Panahi is also facing legal action in Iran after being sentenced late last year to one year in prison in absentia and a travel ban over “propaganda activities” against the nation. He is currently appealing the sentence and has said that he will return to Iran after awards season.
It Was Just An Accident premiered in Cannes last year, where it won the coveted Palme d’Or. Since then, it has been nominated for several awards, including at the European Film Awards and the upcoming Oscars – where it is nominated for both Best Screenplay and Best International Feature.
The film, which featured in Euronews Culture’s Best Movies of 2025, is Panahi’s first film since being released from prison. It is partly based on the experiences of director Jafar Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times by the repressive Iranian government. The film follows a group of former Iranian political prisoners who kidnap the man they believe to be their tormentor.
In our review, we said: " It’s an engrossing thriller that explores the consequences of torture, the price of revenge and whether mercy is possible. Panahi also masterfully injects some bleak comedy and even slapstick elements to craft a satirical road-trip which critiques the Islamist Republic’s repression and functions as a timeless commentary of the sins of state despotism. (...) It Was Just An Accident once again reminds us that the stellar work of Iranian filmmakers shouldn’t be taken for granted by audiences, who have the privilege of being able to experience the work of creatives who literally put it all on the line for the sake of their artform.”
It Was Just An Accident was co-written by Panahi, Mahmoudian, Nader Saeiver, and Shadhmer Rastin. Each of the screenwriters is a current Academy Award nominee at the 98th Academy Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles on 15 March.
Here is the full statement signed by Mahmoudian and the other activists:
Khamenei Is Responsible for These Horrific Times in Iran
Honorable, courageous and grieving people of Iran,
The mass and systematic killing of citizens who bravely took to the streets to bring an end to an illegitimate regime constitutes an organized state crime against humanity. The use of live ammunition against civilians, the killing of tens of thousands, the arrest and persecution of tens of thousands more, the assault on the wounded, the obstruction of medical care, and the killing of injured protesters amount to nothing less than an assault on Iran’s national security and a betrayal of the country.
The primary responsibility for these atrocities lies with Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and the repressive structure of the regime. 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. The systematic labeling of protesters as “seditionists,” “rioters,” “vandals,” or “terrorists affiliated with enemies” is a deliberate attempt to deny the Iranian people their basic right to self-determination.
The bitter experiences of recent decades have demonstrated that the principal obstacle to rescuing Iran from its current crisis is Ali Khamenei and the regime of religious despotism he leads. Each day this regime remains in power, it deepens society’s collapse, spreads death and destruction, and drives the country further toward irreversible ruin. For years, Iran has been trapped in crises caused by ill-conceived confrontational policies, and today, the risk of war - resulting directly from the continuation of this regime - looms over the nation more than ever.
At this critical historical moment, when the future of Iran is darker than at any other time, we reaffirm the urgent necessity of justice for those killed and the immediate release of all political prisoners. While we recognize that unchecked power does not willingly submit to change, we believe that the only path to saving Iran lies in the prosecution of all those who ordered and carried out acts of repression and in bringing an end to the un-republican and inhumane ruling regime.
We call for the formation of a broad national front to organize a referendum and establish a constituent assembly, enabling all Iranians of all political beliefs to participate in a democratic and transparent process to determine their political future.
We warn that failure to pursue this path will condemn Iran to a devastating cycle of violence.
May the sun of freedom rise over our people and our homeland.
Signatories: Ghorban Behzadian-Nejad; Jafar Panahi; Amirsalar Davoudi; Vida Rabbani; Mohammad Rasoulof; Hossein Razagh; Nasrin Sotoudeh; Abolfazl Ghadyani; Hatam Ghaderi; Abbas Sadeghi; Manzar Zarrabi; Nargess Foundation; Mehdi Mahmoudian; Saeed Madani; Abdollah Momeni; Mohammad Najafi; Sedigheh Vasmaghi.
