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Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
Diplomacy that fails to address Iran's human-rights violations is hardly diplomacy at all
Irwin Cotler is the international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, Canadian former minister of justice and attorney-general, and international legal counsel to Ahmadreza Djalali. Judith Abitan is the executive director of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and a fellow of Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Scholars program. On April 25, 2016, Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian disaster-medicine expert, was arrested by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. Despite being invited by the University of Tehran, he was arbitrarily detained and subjected to months of interrogation in solitary confinement at Evin Prison's Ward 209, and then sentenced to death for 'corruption on earth' following a sham trial based on coerced confessions of espionage extracted under torture. Iranian state media has relentlessly spread falsehoods, portraying Dr. Djalali as a threat to the state and enemy of the people. These slanders have been exploited against him while traumatizing his family in Sweden, exemplifying the intersection of domestic oppression and transnational repression. Dr. Djalali's wife and children – 13 and 4 when he was taken – have been forced to spend a significant part of their lives away from him. He continues to suffer from debilitating physical and mental health issues due to prolonged detention, denial of access to family, medical care and consular protection – conditions that amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Dr. Djalali's arbitrary detention not only violates Iran's international humanitarian obligations under relevant treaties and conventions, it breaches Iran's own civil, criminal, constitutional and Sharia laws. The Iranian Constitution guarantees fair trial rights, including the right to select legal representation, presumption of innocence and protection against unlawful detention – all of which have been violated in his case and in the cases of thousands of other documented detainees. Yet as we write, the United States is negotiating a new nuclear deal with Tehran. There is no indication that Iran's human-rights violations will be raised as part of a potential deal; its persecution and prosecution of political prisoners, as well as 'the harms inherent in hostage-taking – most notably torture," which the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has characterized as 'a crime against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population with knowledge of the attack' – have yet to be redressed. It is imperative that the negotiations confront Iran's sevenfold threat to international peace and security, its brutal crackdown on dissent, systemic repression of women, persecution of minorities, censorship of expression, violent suppression of protests, torture in prisons and weaponization of the judiciary. Indeed, any diplomatic engagement that ignores these calculated and sustained attacks on human dignity is not diplomacy – it is complicity. Inaction only serves to stain the world's liberal democracies. The Swedish government's unassertive action on Dr. Djalali's behalf risks undermining its principles of equality before the law, as seen in other emblematic cases involving detained Swedish citizens such as playwright and journalist Dawit Isaak, who has been jailed in Eritrea for more than two decades, and publisher Gui Minhai, who has been in custody in China since 2015. Dr. Djalali's exclusion from a prisoner swap last year raises concerns that Sweden has de facto abandoned him, even though diplomatic remedy is an international obligation, not a matter of national discretion. In his own words, '3,288 days of suffering and being under risk of execution show the inefficacy of words and condemnation. Termination of my torture-like conditions needs a real and joint action by the EU and Swedish officials. Otherwise, if I die here, either due to execution or illness, the officials who were careless and neutral about my situation over all these years and left me behind when able to return me home, are also responsible in my death.' Time is of the essence. In the first 25 days of May, at least 113 people were executed in Iran, averaging four per day, and on May 28, Iranian dissident Pedram Madani was executed. This is not just a travesty of justice; this is state-sanctioned extrajudicial killing. As Dr. Djalali's health rapidly declines, the international community must act quickly to secure his release. Canada is well-placed to lead this effort by making the appropriate representations to the UN Human Rights Council, invoking the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations and requesting immediate medical furlough. The Community of Democracies should join France in initiating legal action against Iran at the International Court of Justice, using Dr. Djalali's case to highlight a broader pattern of arbitrary detention, executions and violations of consular rights. Iran's mistreatment of Dr. Djalali is not only an affront to Sweden but a crime against all member states. Now, justice must be served without delay.
The National
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Iran spars with France over dissident filmmaker's Cannes triumph
Iran hit out at France on Sunday for praising a dissident filmmaker whose tale of revenge against the Iranian state triumphed at the Cannes Film Festival. Jafar Panahi, a former prisoner in Iran, won the top prize in Cannes – the Palme d'Or – for his film It Was Just an Accident, which depicts five Iranians confronting a man they believed tortured them in jail. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot praised the film as a "gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression". Tehran is under widespread sanctions for cracking down on dissent, most notably after anti-regime protests that followed the 2022 death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. That led to Iran's Foreign Ministry summoning France's top diplomat in Tehran on Sunday, state news agency IRNA reported. "Following the insulting remarks and unfounded allegations by the French Minister..., the charge d'affaires of that country in Tehran has been summoned to the ministry," it said. The state news agency had previously hailed Panahi's victory as having "made history for Iranian cinema", without delving into the film's contents. It was the first Iranian win in the Palme d'Or since Abbas Kiarostami received the honour for Taste of Cherry in 1997. Panahi, 64, was detained in Tehran's Evin prison for almost seven months on charges of spreading anti-government propaganda. He was released in 2023 two days after beginning a hunger strike. Panahi won a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2000 for his filmThe Circle. In 2015, he won the Golden Bear in Berlin forTaxi Tehran, and in 2018, he won the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes forThree Faces. His latest film depicts an Iranian torture victim who believes he has encountered Peg Leg, a one-legged state interrogator responsible for mistreating him and many others. The National's film review described it as a production that "rages against the Iranian state".
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Iranian Movie Shot in Secret Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival
The sun was still shining when the 78th Cannes Film Festival came to an emotional, exhilarating close with the Palme d'Or going to 'Un Simple Accident,' from the Iranian writer-director Jafar Panahi. The announcement was met with cheers and a standing ovation in the Grand Lumière Theater. Accompanied by his actors, some who began weeping, an equally moved Panahi kept on his sunglasses as he accepted his award. A longtime festival favorite, Panahi had until recently been barred from making movies in Iran or traveling outside the country. Although the restriction has been lifted, he shot 'Un Simple Accident' clandestinely. The movie tracks a group of men and women who join together after one of them kidnaps a man they believe tortured them in prison. Panahi, who has been imprisoned several times, drew his inspiration from stories he heard from other inmates while he was at Evin Prison in Tehran. The Palme for Panahi capped what was widely seen as one of the strongest festivals in years. For some, the selections offered reassuring evidence that the art would continue to endure — and thrive — despite the problems facing the industry. Certainly, President Trump's recent threat to institute a 100 percent tariff on movies made in 'foreign lands' had cast a shadow over the opening ceremony. By the close of the festival, however, the bounty of good and great work had palpably buoyed spirits. The Palme d'Or was decided upon by a nine-person jury led by the French actress Juliette Binoche. 'My friends, this is the end — it was such a show,' she said, turning to her fellow jurists, who included the American actor Jeremy Strong and the Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia. Given Binoche's auteur-rich résumé, it is perhaps unsurprising that this jury gave a special award to the Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan for 'Resurrection,' a delirious, elegiac journey through cinema history. The director Coralie Fargeat ('The Substance') presented the Grand Prix, effectively the runner-up award, to 'Sentimental Value,' a wistful, visually playful family drama from the Norwegian director Joachim Trier, who is best known for 'The Worst Person in the World.' 'I'm very moved,' a very composed Trier said. Gesturing to the audience, he said that he shared the prize with his actors, including Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve, who play father and daughter in a story about art, family and the ghosts that haunt each. Like other winners, Trier praised Cannes for its commitment to the big screen. The Jury Prize, presented by the American actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph, was split between two very different movies: 'Sirât' and 'Sound of Falling.' Sirât, from the French Spanish director Oliver Laxe, turns on a father who's searching for his missing daughter in Morocco and ends up stranded in a desert with some ravers. 'Sound of Falling,' from the German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski, is a visually exquisite ghost story that takes place over a century on the same sprawling farm. The best actor award, presented by the Spanish actress Rossy de Palma, was given to Wagner Moura, the star of the Brazilian drama 'The Secret Agent,' about a man on the run during the country's military dictatorship. Its director, Kleber Mendonça Filho, accepted on behalf of the star, saying 'I love him very much.' Mendonça Filho returned to the stage soon after to accept the prize for best director. It was presented by the French director Claude Lelouch, whose 'A Man and a Woman' is featured on the festival poster. 'I was having Champagne,' Mendonça Filho said. After he praised Cannes, he gave a lusty shout-out to the theatrical experience: 'I believe that cinemas build the character of a film.' The French actor Daniel Auteuil presented the best actress prize to the newcomer Nadia Melliti, star of Hafsia Herzi's touching drama 'The Little Sister.' Melliti's open, naturalistic performance — her first movie role — as a young lesbian struggling to reconcile her sexuality with her Muslim faith, had been widely and justly celebrated. The American actor John C. Reilly, after referring to a power outage that affected Cannes and the surrounding Alpes-Maritimes region earlier in the day, announced that it was his birthday. A guitarist then strolled onstage and Reilly began singing 'La Vie en Rose,' providing some levity in the briskly paced ceremony that was over in one hour. When Reilly finished, he presented the best screenplay to the Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for their ensemble drama 'Young Mothers.' Also longtime festival favorites, they have won the Palme twice. The Camera d'Or, for best first film, went to 'The President's Cake.' Accepting the award, its director, Hasan Hadi, said it was the first Iraqi movie to be honored at Cannes. The touching Nigerian drama 'My Father's Shadow,' from Akinola Davies Jr., received a special mention.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi's presence in Cannes speaks volumes
Director Jafar Panahi poses for a portrait photograph for the film 'It Was Just an Accident' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) CANNES, France — Before this week, the dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi hadn't attended the premiere of one of his films in more than 15 years. Panahi, one of the leading international directors, was banned from traveling out of Iran in 2009 for attending the funeral of a student killed in the Green Movement protests, a judgment later extended to two decades. But even when placed under house arrest, Panahi kept making movies, many of which are among the most lauded of the century. He made 2011's 'This Is Not a Film' on an iPhone in his living room. 'Taxi' (2015) was clandestinely shot almost entirely within a car. These and other films of Panahi's premiered to considerable acclaim at international film festivals where the director's conspicuous absence was sometimes noted by an empty chair. When his last film, 2022's 'No Bears,' debuted, he was in jail. Only after his hunger strike made worldwide news was Panahi — who had gone to Tehran's Evin Prison to inquire about his friend, the then-jailed filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof — released, in early 2023. Two years later, with his travel ban finally lifted, Panahi arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with a film, 'It Was Just an Accident,' riven with the fury and pain of incarceration by the Islamic Republic. 'Being here does matter, of course. But what's even more important is that the film is here,' Panahi said in an interview on a Palais terrace. 'Even when I went to jail, I was happy that the film was done. I didn't mind being in prison because my job was done.' Yet Panahi's appearance in Cannes, where the film premiered Tuesday, carries tremendous meaning — and risk — for a filmmaker who has played such a massive role in international cinema in absentia. But for a director who has previously had his films smuggled out of Iran on USB drives, risk is a constant for Panahi. 'Yes, this is an ongoing risk,' he says, speaking through an interpreter. 'Now it will probably be higher. But the Iran situation is unpredictable. It changes everyday. New politics everyday. So we have to see what happens the day we go back.' Last year, in order to reach Cannes, Panahi's countryman Rasoulof crossed the Iranian border on foot before resettling in Germany. (His film, 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig,' was ultimately nominated for best international film at the Oscars.) Panahi says they speak every other day. After the premiere of 'It Was Just an Accident,' Rasoulof texted Panahi to congratulate him on the moment. Unlike Rasoulof, though, Panahi — whose 'No Bears' captured him emotionally gazing across, but not crossing, the border — has no plans to flee. 'I'm flying back to Tehran on Sunday,' he says. 'It's simple. I'm unable to live here,' he elaborates. 'I have no ability to adapt to a new country, a new culture. Some people have this ability, this strength. I don't.' What Panahi does have, as his latest film shows once again, is the ability to deftly lace complicated feelings of resistance, sorrow and hope into gripping movies of elegant, if heartbreaking, composition. In 'It Was Just an Accident,' which is in competition for the Palme d'Or in Cannes, a man named Vahid (played by Vahid Mobasser) believes he sees his former captor and torturer. Though blindfolded while imprisoned, Vahid recognizes the sound of the man's prosthetic leg. He abducts him, takes him to the desert and begins to bury him in the ground. But to satisfy pangs of doubt, Vahid decides to confirm his suspicion by bringing the man, locked in his van, to other former prisoners for identification. In this strange odyssey, they are all forced to confront revenge or forgiveness for the man who ruined their lives. Panahi drew from his own imprisonment but also from the stories of detainees jailed alongside him. 'It was the experience of all these people I met in prison, mixed with my own perception and experience,' said Panahi. 'For instance, the fact of never seeing the face of your interrogator is everyone's experience. But then the people who have spent over a decade in prison have more experience than myself, so I've been very sensitive to their narratives.' 'It Was Just an Accident' may be Panahi's most politically direct film yet. It's certainly his most anguished. That's a product of not just his personal experience in prison but of the protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini. 'I think ultimately violence will be inevitable. And it's exactly what the regime wants, because it gives a justification to the repression,' says Panahi. 'The longer they remain and the more pressure they put on the people, the more the people will feel that they have no other solution. And that's when it will get dangerous.' That doesn't mean Panahi is without hope. 'The Iranians' struggle and fight for freedom is extremely precious,' he says. 'What people are doing is so impressive. The regime is just trying to divide us. That's all they focus on now, to create division between the people.' In Iran, film productions need to receive script approval from the government to shoot in public. Panahi refuses to do that, knowing they won't allow him to make the films he wants to. So committed is he to making film, he notes that the downside to being able to travel is that he might have to spend a year promoting his film, instead of making the next one. On Thursday, Neon acquired the North American distribution rights. 'There's nothing else I can do. Maybe if I had other abilities, I would have changed to something else,' Panahi says. 'When you know that's the only thing you can do, you find ways. Now, I've gotten used to it. It was harder at the beginning. There were less people doing underground films. We started this fashion, in a way, so there are ways we have learned and practiced, many of us.' More than perhaps any filmmaker on earth, you can expect Panahi to find a way to keep making movies, no matter the circumstances. 'I'll try,' he nods, 'at least.' Article by Jake Coyle.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi's presence in Cannes speaks volumes
CANNES, France (AP) — Before this week, the dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi hadn't attended the premiere of one of his films in more than 15 years. Panahi, one of the leading international directors, was banned from traveling out of Iran in 2009 for attending the funeral of a student killed in the Green Movement protests, a judgment later extended to two decades. But even when placed under house arrest, Panahi kept making movies, many of which are among the most lauded of the century. He made 2011's 'This Is Not a Film' on an iPhone in his living room. 'Taxi' (2015) was clandestinely shot almost entirely within a car. These and other films of Panahi's premiered to considerable acclaim at international film festivals where the director's conspicuous absence was sometimes noted by an empty chair. When his last film, 2022's 'No Bears,' debuted, he was in jail. Only after his hunger strike made worldwide news was Panahi — who had gone to Tehran's Evin Prison to inquire about his friend, the then-jailed filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof — released, in early 2023. Two years later, with his travel ban finally lifted, Panahi arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with a film, 'It Was Just an Accident,' riven with the fury and pain of incarceration by the Islamic Republic. 'Being here does matter, of course. But what's even more important is that the film is here,' Panahi said in an interview on a Palais terrace. 'Even when I went to jail, I was happy that the film was done. I didn't mind being in prison because my job was done.' Yet Panahi's appearance in Cannes, where the film premiered Wednesday, carries tremendous meaning — and risk — for a filmmaker who has played such a massive role in international cinema in absentia. But for a director who has previously had his films smuggled out of Iran on USB drives, risk is a constant for Panahi. 'Yes, this is an ongoing risk,' he says, speaking through an interpreter. 'Now it will probably be higher. But the Iran situation is unpredictable. It changes everyday. New politics everyday. So we have to see what happens the day we go back.' Last year, in order to reach Cannes, Panahi's countryman Rasoulof crossed the Iranian border on foot before resettling in Germany. (His film, 'The Seed of the Sacred Fig,' was ultimately nominated for best international film at the Oscars.) Panahi says they speak every other day. After the premiere of 'It Was Just an Accident,' Rasoulof texted Panahi to congratulate him on the moment. Unlike Rasoulof, though, Panahi — whose 'No Bears' captured him emotionally gazing across, but not crossing, the border — has no plans to flee. 'I'm flying back to Tehran on Sunday,' he says. 'It's simple. I'm unable to live here,' he elaborates. 'I have no ability to adapt to a new country, a new culture. Some people have this ability, this strength. I don't.' What Panahi does have, as his latest film shows once again, is the ability to deftly lace complicated feelings of resistance, sorrow and hope into gripping movies of elegant, if heartbreaking, composition. In 'It Was Just an Accident,' which is in competition for the Palme d'Or in Cannes, a man named Vahid (played by Vahid Mobasser) believes he sees his former captor and torturer. Though blindfolded while imprisoned, Vahid recognizes the sound of the man's prosthetic leg. He abducts him, takes him to the desert and begins to bury him in the ground. But to satisfy pangs of doubt, Vahid decides to confirm his suspicion by bringing the man, locked in his van, to other former prisoners for identification. In this strange odyssey, they are all forced to confront revenge or forgiveness for the man who ruined their lives. Panahi drew from his own imprisonment but also from the stories of detainees jailed alongside him. 'It was the experience of all these people I met in prison, mixed with my own perception and experience,' said Panahi. 'For instance, the fact of never seeing the face of your interrogator is everyone's experience. But then the people who have spent over a decade in prison have more experience than myself, so I've been very sensitive to their narratives.' 'It Was Just an Accident' may be Panahi's most politically direct film yet. It's certainly his most anguished. That's a product of not just his personal experience in prison but of the protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini. 'I think ultimately violence will be inevitable. And it's exactly what the regime wants, because it gives a justification to the repression,' says Panahi. 'The longer they remain and the more pressure they put on the people, the more the people will feel that they have no other solution. And that's when it will get dangerous.' That doesn't mean Panahi is without hope. 'The Iranians' struggle and fight for freedom is extremely precious,' he says. 'What people are doing is so impressive. The regime is just trying to divide us. That's all they focus on now, to create division between the people.' In Iran, film productions need to receive script approval from the government to shoot in public. Panahi refuses to do that, knowing they won't allow him to make the films he wants to. So committed is he to making film, he notes that the downside to being able to travel is that he might have to spend a year promoting his film, instead of making the next one. On Thursday, Neon acquired the North American distribution rights. 'There's nothing else I can do. Maybe if I had other abilities, I would have changed to something else,' Panahi says. 'When you know that's the only thing you can do, you find ways. Now, I've gotten used to it. It was harder at the beginning. There were less people doing underground films. We started this fashion, in a way, so there are ways we have learned and practiced, many of us.' More than perhaps any filmmaker on earth, you can expect Panahi to find a way to keep making movies, no matter the circumstances. 'I'll try,' he nods, 'at least.' ___ For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit
