Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated co-screenwriter of It Was Just An Accident, has been arrested in Iran after condemning the country’s supreme leader.
The 2025 thriller film he worked on was directed by Jafar Panahi and is a co-production between Iran, France, and Luxembourg.
It follows a group of former Iranian political prisoners who face the question of whether to exact revenge on a man they believe may be their tormentor.
Panahi, who is critical of the Iranian government and has been imprisoned several times, made the film without official filming permission from the Iranian authorities.
Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year – where it also won the Palme d’Or – the film has also been nominated for best motion picture, best director, best screenplay and best foreign language film.
Last month it also received nominations for best international feature film and best original screenplay for the upcoming Academy Awards.
Critics have called it a ‘powerful statement for humanity’, a ‘stark condemnation of abusive power’, and a ‘powerful, political and personal piece’ for work.
But ahead of the Oscars, to be held on March 15, its screenwriter was arrested in the country’s capital yesterday after signing a statement condemning the actions of Iran‘s supreme leader, Ali Khameni, during the recent violent crackdown on government protesters.
Neon, the U.S. distributor of It Was Just An Accident, revealed that Mahmoudian was arrested along with two other signatories, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni.
A total of 17 people signed the letter, including Panahi, who is currently outside Iran promoting his film, and Mohammad Rasoulof, director of 2025 Oscar-nominee The Seed of the Sacred Fig, who is now living in exile in Germany.
The Iranian arresting authorities have not yet publicly confirmed any of the arrests or given details about the charges against those being detained.
In the letter, signatories have called out Khameni for authorizing the ‘mass and systematic killing of citizens’ in the crackdown against government protests earlier this month.
Whilst the Iranian government has confirmed more than 3,000 people have been killed, human rights organisations have estimated that number is more likely to be in the tens of thousands.
In a statement following Mahmoudian’s arrest, Panahi detailed their working and personal relationship since first meeting in prison.
‘From the very first days, he stood out – not only because of his calm demeanour and kind conduct but also because of a rare sense of responsibility toward others,’ he wrote.
‘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.’
Recalling shooting the film, Panahi said that during the filming of a particularly gruelling interrogation scene, they’d been unable to secure shots for the final cut.
But after bringing Mahmoudian on set to help and drawing on his understanding of interrogators and the fine details they needed to get right, Panahi said they ‘finally succeeded in capturing the shot’.
Speaking about their last conversation before his friend and creative collaborators arrest, he explained: ‘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.’
He went on: ‘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 himself 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.
The current protests in Iran were sparked by rampant inflation and a deep cost of living crisis in the country, with anti-regime protests then sweeping the country.
Since the protests began in late December, the regime has responded with an internet blackout and severe crackdowns.
Panahi has repeatedly spoken out against the crackdown.
‘As we stand here, the state of Iran is gunning down protesters and a savage massacre continues blatantly on the streets of Iran,’ he said last month at the National Board of Review Awards in New York. ‘Today the real scene is not on screens but on the streets of Iran. The Islamic Republic has caused a bloodbath to delay its collapse.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
