ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish filmmaker Keywan Karimi began serving a one-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin prison on Wednesday.
Karimi was also sentenced to receive 223 lashes on charges of insulting Islam in his documentary film ‘The Writing on the Walls.’
The judge presiding over the case, Muhammad Moghise, said Karimi had insulted sacred values and promoted illegitimate relations and contact through kissing.
In a telephone conversation with Rudaw in the summer, Karimi, 30, a native of the Kurdish city of Baneh, rejected the accusations and decried his sentencing.
“I’ve made a film about the government, social conditions, graffiti on the walls and the working class,” he said. “It is for people to judge my films. I don’t know why I should be punished like this.”
The commencement of his sentence was confirmed in an announcement from the production company Les Films de l’Apres-Midi.
Karimi’s film “Drum” was screened at this summer’s Duhok International Film Festival. He was not able to attend the screening as Iranian authorities had banned him from leaving the country.
Karimi was also sentenced to receive 223 lashes on charges of insulting Islam in his documentary film ‘The Writing on the Walls.’
The judge presiding over the case, Muhammad Moghise, said Karimi had insulted sacred values and promoted illegitimate relations and contact through kissing.
In a telephone conversation with Rudaw in the summer, Karimi, 30, a native of the Kurdish city of Baneh, rejected the accusations and decried his sentencing.
“I’ve made a film about the government, social conditions, graffiti on the walls and the working class,” he said. “It is for people to judge my films. I don’t know why I should be punished like this.”
The commencement of his sentence was confirmed in an announcement from the production company Les Films de l’Apres-Midi.
Karimi’s film “Drum” was screened at this summer’s Duhok International Film Festival. He was not able to attend the screening as Iranian authorities had banned him from leaving the country.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment