IRAN: Iran Releases Prominent Actor and Filmmaker

Iran has released two prominent cultural figures from jail following intense criticism of its crackdown against artists and rights activists.

Pegah Ahangarani, 27, a popular actor and outspoken supporter of the country's opposition green movement, was arrested two weeks ago en route to the women's World Cup. Mahnaz Mohammadi, 37, a documentary filmmaker, was detained by unidentified officials in June.

The human rights website Rahana reported on Wednesday that Ahangarani has been freed from Tehran's notorious Evin prison on bail.

Supporters of Ahangarani, who stars in two films currently being screened in Iranian cinemas, had been protesting against her arrest by applauding and shouting her name in movie theatres across the country in recent days.

Also on Wednesday, the BBC Persian service reported that Mohammadi had been released after paying 1bn Iranian rials (£61,000) in bail.

Their arrests prompted criticism from human rights organisations and foreign governments, and their release follows that of other women rights activists and campaigners who had been arrested in recent weeks.

Maryam Majd, a photojournalist and activist who had campaigned for female fans to be allowed to go to football matches in Iran, was also released last week.

A spokesman for Iran's judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, said that more imprisoned actors will be released on bail in next few days. Marzieh Vafamehr, an acclaimed actress, and Ramin Parchami, a prominent actor, remain in jail.

Mohseni-Ejei also criticised supporters of the imprisoned actors, who interpreted their arrests as a new campaign against artists in the Islamic regime.

"No one is arrested merely on the basis of being an actor … anyone who has committed a crime or is facing an accusation is prosecuted," he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Ilna news agency.

Ahangarani, the daughter of Iranian filmmakers Jamshid Ahangarani and Manijeh Hekmat, has repeatedly pushed boundaries in her career.

At 15, she featured in a controversial film, The Girl in the Sneakers, which touched the then-taboo issue of a rebellious girl who wanted to have a boyfriend in an Islamic society. Girls in Iran are not allowed to have boyfriends, although many young people rebel against the ban.

Mohammadi, who had previously been arrested in 2007 and 2009, has directed a handful of films including Women without Shadows (2003), which examines the plight of homeless women, and The Soul's Children (2004), which was banned.

Among her documentaries, Travelogue (2006) shows a train that departs full of passengers every Thursday from Tehran to Istanbul, and returns home empty. The film discusses issues of immigration, the contradictions of Iran's modern society and homosexuality.

In recent years a number filmmakers and actors have been arrested and in two cases sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Director Jafar Panahi received a six-year prison term and 20-year ban on filmmaking last year. Mohammad Rasoulof was also sentenced to six years in jail.