Iranian documentary filmmaker Mojtaba MirTahmasb has been released from Evin Prison after three months in jail.
ISNA reports that MirTahmasb, who was arrested on the charge of “collaborating with the Persian BBC network”, was released Saturday night on bail of $200,000.
MirTahmasb was one of six Iranian filmmakers arrested three months ago after the Persian BBC aired a documentary about the political career of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. All six were charged with collaborating with the Persian BBC, which the Islamic Republic contends is not an ordinary media network but in fact an extension of the British intelligence service.
The BBC denied having any collaborators or employees in Iran and stated that the films it airs have been acquired through distribution companies.
The Iranian Intelligence Minister said the detainees had received money through secret channels to carry out “anti-national missions for the British Intelligence service’s centre for psychological and secret operations, also known as the BBC.”
The Iranian film community actively advocated on behalf of the detained filmmakers, calling on the judiciary to release them.
The other five filmmakers arrested with MirTahmasb had all been previously released.
