Hossein Rajabian ( fa,
حسین رجبیان; born 5 July 1984) is an Iranian
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
, writer and
photographer
A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographe ...
who was imprisoned as a
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
in 2015 on charges related to his filmmaking. He as an anti-censorship filmmaker and defender of
freedom of speech for the arts, has been elected as an honorary member of the
SRF (''La Société des réalisateurs de films'') in France in 2021.
Artistic activities
Hossein Rajabian started off his artistic career in a theater school. Later he made his debut in cinema by making and editing short and documentary films. His artistic résumé is dotted with different projects ranging from making (feature) films, writing a number of screenplays for feature films, essays on cinema, plays, and carrying out artistic-photographical projects and film workshops. He also found his way into the Faculty of Art and Architecture in Tehran and studied Dramatic literature, but he never finished his studies there. Later he gained admission to the
University of Music and Performing Arts
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
, Vienna to continue his studies in cinema and theater, but he was captured by security forces and his passport was seized before setting out for
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and was barred from taking up academic studies at home and abroad. "
People in distance
People in distance is the name of a black and white photography project implemented by Hossein Rajabian, the Iranian photographer. The photos were taken for a charity auction. This project started from 2006 and continued until the arrest of Hossei ...
" is the name of a black and white photography project implemented by Hossein Rajabian.
Filmography
Short
*''So So'' (fiction, 2003, 6 minutes)
*''
Navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
'' (documentary, 2005, 43 minutes)
*''
To Revolution Square'' (documentary, 2006, 22 minutes)
*''Some Redundant Word in The Dictionary'' (fiction, 2010, 20 minutes)
*''Lines'' (documentary, 2010 to present)
Film Workshop
*''Film Workshop The Experimental & Creatively attitude''
Photography project
*''
People in distance
People in distance is the name of a black and white photography project implemented by Hossein Rajabian, the Iranian photographer. The photos were taken for a charity auction. This project started from 2006 and continued until the arrest of Hossei ...
is the name of a
black and white photography
Monochrome photography is photography where each position on an image can record and show a different ''amount'' of light, but not a different hue. It includes all forms of black-and-white photography, which produce images containing shades of ...
project implemented by Hossein Rajabian''.
Feature film scripts
*''The stone falls in water (2009)''
*''
The Upside-down Triangle (2011)''
*''
Creation between Two Surfaces (2019)''
Feature
*''
The Upside-down Triangle (fiction, 2015, 106 minutes)
*''
Creation between Two Surfaces (fiction, 2019, 95 minutes)''
Apprehension and court case
After finishing his first feature film, Rajabian was arrested by Iranian security forces on 5 October 2013 outside his office in
Sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
alongside two musicians, and was transferred to Ward 2-A of
Evin Prison where all three of them were held in solitary confinement for more than two months and were threatened with televised confessions. He was released on bail (around $166,000) in mid-December, pending trial. Two years later, his case was heard at Branch 28 of Tehran
Revolutionary Court which was presided over by Judge Moghisseh (Summer 2015). He was sentenced to six years in prison and fines for pursuing illegal cinematic activities, launching propaganda against the establishment and hurling insults at sanctities. On appeal, his sentence was changed to three years imprisonment and three years of suspended jail and fines.
Imprisonment and hunger strike
Hossein Rajabian was sent to the ward 7 of
Evin Prison in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
. After spending one third of his total period of imprisonment (that is 11 months), he went on
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
to protest against unjust trial, lack of medical facilities, and transfer of his brother to another ward called section 8 of the same prison. During the first hunger strike period, which lasted 14 days, he was transferred to hospital because of pulmonary infection and he could not continue his hunger strike because of the interference of the representative of the prosecutor who was sent as an intermediary. After some time, he sent an open letter to the judicial authorities of Iran and went again on strike which brought him the support of international artists. After 36 days of hunger strike, he could convince the judicial authorities of Iran to review his case and grant him medical leave for the treatment of his left kidney suffered from infections and blood arising out of hunger strike. he, after a contentious struggle with the judicial officer of the prison was sent to the ward 8 for punishment. After spending three years in
Evin prison, he was finally released from Evin Prison under pressure from the world media and the reaction of human rights organizations around the world.
Official reactions of the senior officials of the world
After imprisonment of Hossein Rajabian, senior officials of the world started to react officially to this sentence. For instance,
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
, secretary general of the United Nations, issued a special declaration about the human rights in the world. In the ninth page of the annual declaration, he refers to the conditions of Hossein Rajabian in the Iranian prisons, and asks the Iranian authorities to release this filmmaker unconditionally. UN Special Rapporteur for
human rights in Iran
From the Imperial Pahlavi dynasty (1925 to 1979), through the Islamic Revolution (1979), to the era of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979 to current), government treatment of Iranian citizens' rights has been criticized by Iranians, by interna ...
Asma Jahangir
Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...
, in her annual report called for the unconditional release of Hossein Rajabian and other prisoners in Iran. It can be referred to the protesting speech delivered by
Wilfred Moore
Wilfred P. Moore (born January 14, 1942) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. From 1996 until his retirement in 2017, he represented Nova Scotia in the Senate of Canada. In the Senate, Moore successfully fought to ban the captivity of cetace ...
, the Canadian Liberal Senator in the senate against the Iranian authorities and in support of Hossein Rajabian. After the imprisonment of Hossein Rajabian,
Åse Kleveland
Åse Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist.
A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture in Norway in 1990, and held the position ...
who is a Norwegian an artist and political leader declared her support to him, and asked for unconditional release of him and all artists imprisoned throughout the world. Following that,
Philip Luther
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, the head of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
published an official video talking about Hossein Rajabian and asked all artists of the world to launch a worldwide campaign to support him. After organizing an international petition by the Amnesty International,
Johnny Depp, the American actor, and
Peter Gabriel, the well-known musician initiated a campaign with the motto "
Art is not a Crime" to protest against censorship and support Rajabian and all other imprisoned artists.
A petition was signed by more than 12,000 people of different human right activists and artists addressing the Iranian authorities to review the judicial case of Rajabian and several other prisoners. Finally, the
United Nations Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per ...
unanimously passed a resolution against Iranian government for the flagrant violation of human rights as a reaction to the collective hunger strike of Hossein Rajabian and seven other political and ideological prisoners of
Evin Prison. Following that, the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
extended the sanctions imposed on Iran for the violation of human rights for another ten years. The citizens of European countries initiated a supporting campaign and a sit-in in front of the Iranian Embassies in different countries while showing his photos. The annual report
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
on Human Rights in Iran in 2016 cited the situation of prisoner filmmaker Hossein Rajabian.
Film release in protest
In protest at his sentence and seizure of his film materials, Hossein Rajabian released the medium-quality copy of his film ''
The Upside-down Triangle'' online. ''
Creation between Two Surfaces'' his second film is in line with Iranian
popular protests which culminated in November 2019, and was released on the internet for free in February 2020, as a show against censorship and in sympathy with the protesting people.
Media reaction to court sentence
The news on the imprisonment of Hossein Rajabian, the Iranian artist, had globally great worldwide reflection, and it was covered by many news agencies including
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
,
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
,
Al-Arabiya,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
etc. The arrest and conviction of Hossein Rajabian was given extensive coverage by media outlets in Iran and other countries.In an exclusive interview, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Said Boumedouha expressed objection to Rajabian's sentence. Afterwards,
launched a global campaign and petition calling on all artists across the world to sign the petition and join the campaign. More than 20,000 artists from four corners of the world joined the campaign, chief among them musician-turned-actor