Jafar Panahi's statement from Evin prison

Full statement:
On July 11 of this year, in protest against the arrest of two of our beloved colleagues, Mr. Mohammad Rasulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, along with a group of filmmakers gathered in front of Evin prison, and a number of us and the lawyers of the detained colleagues entered the Evin courthouse. And we were talking calmly with the relevant authorities and the relevant investigator when an officer came and took me to the judge of branch one of the execution of Evin's sentences.

The young judge said without introduction: "We were looking for you in the skies, we found you here. You are under arrest!"

In this way, I was arrested and transferred to Evin prison to execute the sentence that had been issued for eleven years.

According to the law for which I was arrested in 2009, after more than ten years of non-execution of a sentence, that sentence becomes subject to the passage of time and becomes unenforceable. Therefore, this arrest was more like banditry and hostage-taking than the execution of a judicial order.

Even though my arrest was illegal, respected lawyers succeeded in violating the verdict issued in 1990 on October 15 of this year by resuming the proceedings in the Supreme Court of the country, which is the highest authority for handling judicial cases. to be referred to the same branch for further consideration.

In this way, according to the law, with the acceptance of the request for retrial and violation of the verdict, the case was referred to the same branch and I should have been released immediately by issuing bail.

While our witness took less than 30 days from the time of the arrest to the hanging of the innocent youth of our country, it took more than 100 days to transfer my case to the same branch with the intervention of security forces.

According to the clarity of the law in cases of violation of the verdict in the Supreme Court, the judge of the same branch was obliged to release me on bail as soon as the case was referred to that branch. However, after months of illegal detention, I was kept in prison with repeated and daily excuses by the security institutions, after issuing a heavy bail.

What is certain is the bullying and extra-legal behavior of the security establishment and the unquestioning surrender of the judicial authorities once again show that the implementation of selective and tasteful laws is only an excuse for repression.

Even though I knew that the judicial system and security institutions have no will to implement the law (which they believe in), but out of respect for my lawyers and friends, I went through all the legal ways to get my right.

Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against these inhumane behaviors with my dearest property, which is my life.

Therefore, I firmly declare that in protest against the extra-legal and inhuman behavior of the judicial and security apparatus and this specific hostage-taking, I have started a hunger strike since the morning of the 12th of Bahman, and I will refuse to eat and drink any food and medicine until the time of my release.

I will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison.

With love for Iran and the people of my land
Jafar Panahi

From Tahereh Saeedi's Instagram, Panahi's wife