Film-makers and actors from around the globe are expected to sign a petition calling for the release of the dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi. An Iranian court yesterday sentenced the 50-year-old to six years in prison, his lawyer said, and banned him from directing or producing films for 20 years.
Launched earlier today, the online petition claims that “Jafar is innocent and his only crime is wishing to continue to freely exercise his profession as a film-maker in Iran … Through this sentence inflicted upon Jafar Panahi, it is manifestly all of Iranian cinema which is targeted.”
