Iranian Renowned Director Sentenced to 8 Years Imprisonment, Flogging, and Asset Confiscation for Casting Actress Without Hijab

Mohammad Rasoolov Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
Also Given Caning, Fine, and Asset Forfeiture Sentences

Mohammad Rasoulof, a renowned Iranian film director who won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, was sentenced to eight years in prison for not making an actress wear a hijab during filming, among other charges.

On the 8th (local time), Yonhap News, citing the British daily The Guardian, reported that Director Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison, flogging, fines, and asset confiscation in an appeals court. This information was revealed by human rights lawyer Babak Paknia on X (formerly Twitter).

On March 1, 2024 (local time), a staff member at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, is preparing a ballot paper for the election of the Assembly of Experts.
Photo by AP / Yonhap News

Lawyer Paknia explained that the court found Rasoulof guilty of producing films and documentaries, stating it was a case of "conspiring with the intent to commit crimes against national security." In a separate email to The Guardian, the lawyer added, "Director Rasoulof was accused of filming an actress in his movie who was either not properly wearing a hijab or was filmed without a hijab."

Additionally, Rasoulof was reportedly charged with making films without government permission. As a result, film industry personnel were subjected to investigations while being banned from leaving the country.

Director Rasoulof, 52 years old this year, is a world-renowned filmmaker who won the top prize, the Golden Bear, at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival for his film There Is No Evil. However, Iranian authorities barred him from traveling abroad due to his political stance, preventing him from attending the awards ceremony.

Director Mohammad Rasoulof
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

In 2017, his film The Men Who Would Not Be Blamed for Nothing, which depicted the story of a man persecuted for refusing to pay bribes, received the Un Certain Regard award at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. At that time, the Iranian government reportedly confiscated Rasoulof’s passport.

In 2010, Rasoulof was sentenced to six years in prison for filming without government permission, which was later reduced to one year. Since then, he has been sentenced to prison multiple times and has faced difficulties due to travel bans and filming restrictions imposed by the authorities.

In July 2022, Rasoulof was imprisoned in the notorious Evin Prison after criticizing the government’s response to the Abadan shopping mall collapse. His health deteriorated, and he was released in February last year.

Videos showing violent behavior of the morality police are being repeatedly uploaded on Iranian social media.
[Photo by Mashi Alinejad X]

Earlier, in mid-September 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died under suspicious circumstances after being detained by the "morality police" for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. This incident sparked nationwide anti-government protests in Iran, with demonstrators chanting against forced hijab wearing. Workers, university students, and youth participated in the protests, and women threw off their hijabs while shouting the Kurdish feminist slogan "Women, Life, Freedom."

Subsequently, an Iranian court sentenced famous rapper Toomaj Salehi (33), who supported the 2022 anti-government protests and released music criticizing the government, to death.

Following Iran’s recent attacks on Israeli territory, enforcement of hijab regulations against women has intensified within Iran. Since mid-month, the Iranian morality police have launched a strict crackdown on women not wearing hijabs in several cities including Tehran, under the Persian-language "Noor" (meaning "light") campaign. During this crackdown, morality police were seen beating and arresting women without hijabs, with videos posted on social media.