Jafar Panahi leaves Iran for first time in 14 years as travel ban is lifted
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi
Celebrated Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi travelled out of Iran with his wife Tahereh Saeedi for the first time in 14 years as the travel ban on him was suddenly lifted. Saeedi on Tuesday night posted a picture on Instagram showing her arriving with her husband at an undisclosed airport.
Panahi, 62, was temporarily released from prison last month after going on a hunger strike to protest "the illegal and inhumane behaviour" of Iran's judiciary. He was out on bail.
The director was arrested last July in Tehran in the wake of the country`s conservative government crackdown. Panahi had gone to Tehran's prosecutor`s office to follow up on the situation of fellow dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulov, who had been incarcerated a few days earlier after signing an appeal against police violence.
He was arrested there and put behind bars on the spot. Panahi is considered one of Iranian cinema's greatest living masters.
He is known globally for prizewinning works such as The Circle, Offside,This is Not a Film,Taxi, and most recently No Bears,winner of last year`s Venice's Special Jury Prize.
Many are considering the lifting of Panahi's travel ban by Iranian authorities as a clear signal to the outside world that Iran is, at least cosmetically, changing its course amid escalating tensions following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022 while she was held in custody for wearing her hijab improperly.
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