Iran - Filmmaker & Activist Mahnaz Mohammadi Arrested

WUNRN

Source: Radio Zamaneh - 27 June 2011

Mahnaz Mohammadi, an Iranian filmmaker and women's rights activist, was arrested on Sunday, June 26 by Islamic Republic security forces. The Kaleme opposition website reports that Mohammadi was arrested with no formal charges laid against her.

Mahnaz Mohammadi

Mohammadi was previously arrested in August of 2009, along with her peers Jafar Panahi and Rokhsareh Ghaem-maghami and a number of documentary filmmakers. It happened while they were at Tehran's Beheshte Zahra Cemetery at a gathering to commemorate people killed in election protests.

She had collaborated with Rakhshan Bani-Etemad in making "We are Half of Iran's Population", a film made about the role and demands of women in Iranian society. The film was made during the 2009 presidential election campaign, when candidates were being pressed for their policies on women's issues.

Maryam Majd is another women's rights activist recently arrested.

The women's sports photographer was arrested last week before a planned trip to Germany. According to Kaleme, she has been transferred to the 2A Ward of Evin Prison, which is the section controlled by the Revolutionary Guards.

Mansoureh Behkish, a member of the Mourning Mothers of Laleh Park, and Zahra Yazdani, are two more journalists and women's rights activists recently arrested by the Islamic Republic.

Also, prison sentences for female journalist Mahsa Amrabadi and blogger Ashraf Alikhani have been confirmed in recent weeks. Amrabadi is serving out a one-year sentence for "propaganda activities against the regime" and Alikhani was given three years for similar charges.