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Panahi was detained on July 11 while visiting
the Tehran prosecutor’s office to follow up the cases of two
Iranian filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, who
were arrested on security-related charges earlier this month.
"This person (Panahi) was sentenced to a total of six years in
prison due to his propaganda against the Islamic Republic in
2010..., but it was not enforced," judiciary spokesman Masoud
Setayeshi told a televised news conference.
In 2010, an Iranian court sentenced Panahi to six years in
prison and banned him from making movies or travelling abroad
for 20 years after he was convicted of "propaganda against the
system".
Panahi said then that he was a victim of injustice and called
one of the charges against him “a joke”. He was later released
on bail.
Panahi has won several international awards, including the
Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or prize for his 1995 movie
"White Balloon" and the 2015 Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear
for his film "Taxi", shot in Iran while he was free on bail.
His films have not been shown in Iran.
The Cannes festival condemned the arrest of Iranian film makers
and France last week called on Tehran to free them.
Over the past several months, Iran's hardline rulers has faced
growing public discontent over soaring prices, especially for
food and housing, that have sparking unrest across the country.
Dozens of activists, teachers and retirees have been arrested,
according to Iranian media reports.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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