The screenwriter of A Simple Accident arrested in Iran

Nominated for the Oscars and the Césars, Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested in Tehran. Jafar Panahi reacts.

Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer nominated for the 2026 Oscars and 2026 Césars, for his participation in the film A Simple Accidentwas arrested in Iran for taking a stand against the regime of the Islamic Republic.

On Saturday, he was arrested in Tehran alongside Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni, after signing a statement condemning the actions of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. At this stage, no information has been released on the charges against them.

In total, 17 signatories appeared on this text, including Jafar Panahi, director and co-writer ofA Simple Accidentwho reacted to Mehdi Mahmoudian’s arrest in a statement (via Deadline):

“I met Mehdi Mahmoudian in prison. From the first days, he stood out – not only by his calm and kindness, but also by a rare sense of responsibility towards others. Each time a new inmate arrived, Mehdi tried to provide him with the minimum necessary and, above all, to reassure him. He became a discreet pillar within the prison – someone in whom prisoners of all beliefs and from all backgrounds trusted and in whom they confided.”

“We spent seven months behind bars together. A few months after his release, while I was working on the script forA Simple AccidentI asked him to help me refine the dialogues. His nine years of imprisonment had given him direct, lived knowledge of the justice system and prison life. And his extensive field work in the field of human rights made him a reliable source and reference for consultation.”

“I remember that during the filming ofA Simple Accidentwe filmed a thirteen-minute sequence where the interrogator is tied to a tree one night, from dusk until dawn, but the result was not good. The next night, I brought Mehdi on set to help us, relying on his understanding of the interrogators and the specific details we needed to get right. That night, thanks to Mehdi, we finally managed to capture the shot.”

“Forty-eight hours before his arrest, we spoke on the phone and then exchanged a few messages. I sent him my last message at four in the morning. By midday the next day, still no response. I started to worry and contacted mutual friends; no one had heard back. A few hours later, BBC Persian officially announced that Mehdi Mahmoudian, as well as Abdollah Momeni and Vida Rabbani, had been arrested.

And Panahi concludes:

“Mehdi Mahmoudian is not only a human rights activist and a prisoner of conscience; he is a witness, a listening ear, a rare moral presence — a presence whose absence is immediately felt, inside the prison walls and beyond.”