Iranian screenwriter released from prison

Mehdi Mahmoudian, Oscar-nominated for his screenplay of Jafar Panahi’s film *It Was Just an Accident*, was recently released from Nowshahr Prison in Iran after 17 days of detention for signing “The Statement of the Seventeen,” which criticized the Iranian leadership. Along with journalist Vida Rabbani and student leader Abdollah Momeni, he paid 6.5 billion tomans as bail. This letter called for democratic reforms in Iran and was co-signed by Panahi. Mahmoudian, previously imprisoned for exposing detainee abuse, highlights the regime’s intolerance towards dissenting voices.