| محمد نوری زاد Mohammad Nūrīzād |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 10 December 1952 Tehran, Iran |
| Occupation | Director, activist, journalist |
| Years active | ?–present |
Mohammad Nourizad, (Persian: محمد نوری زاد) born 10 December 1952 in Shahriar County is an Iranian filmmaker, activist, and former journalist for the conservative daily Kayhan.[1] He was arrested after writing a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, urging him to apologize to the nation for the bloody crackdown on the opposition after the disputed 2009 June presidential elections.
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On 18 April 2010, it was reported that he was sentenced three-and-a-half years in prison.[2][3]
His protest was called "unexpected" as he was "a prominent Iranian conservative respected by supporters" of the Islamic regime, and "explicitly targeting" the Supreme Leader for criticism in his letter.[4] The letter read in part,
"As commander in chief of the armed forces, you didn't treat people well after the election. Your agents opened fire, killed the people, beat them and destroyed and burnt their property. Your role in this can't be ignored, ... Your apology can cool down the wrath of the people."[4]
A year earlier he had "aroused a wave of protest and criticism" with an article on his blog (Gah-e Nevesht) calling for Iran’s leading clerics to avoid getting involved in governmental affairs, after several such clerics called for the dismissal of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. (Masha’i had made a statement regarding the friendly relations between the Iranian nation and the Israeli people, as opposed to the Israeli state.)[1]
On 11 December 2010, Nourizad started a hunger strike to protest a lack of attention from Iranian authorities to his complaints of alleged mistreatment by interrogators at the Evin prison. On 16 December authorities detained his family members after they showed up outside the prison to inquire about his failing health.[5][6]
| Year | English title | Persian | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | All together | Hame ba Ham | Director and Screenwriter | |
| 1989 | Thirsty Palmae | Nakhlestan-e Teshne | Director and Screenwriter | |
| 1990 | The Sea for You | Darya baraye To | Screenwriter only | |
| 1991 | The Bullets and the Flowers | Gol-ha va Golouleh-ha | Screenwriter only | |
| 2000 | Waiting | Entezar | Director and Screenwriter | |
| 2005 | The Persian Prince | Shahzadeh-ye Parsi | Director and Screenwriter | |
| 2007 | My Southern Land | Sarzamin-e Jonoubi-ye Man | Director and Screenwriter | |
| 2009 | Flags of Kaveh's Castl[7] | Parcham-haye Ghal'eye Kaveh | Director and Screenwriter |
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