Iranian director fled to Europe to escape prison sentence

Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof announced his secret departure from Iran on Monday. The reason for this decision, he said, was the notification he received of his sentence. For damaging the security of the country the court sentenced him to flogging and eight years in prison.

Rasoulof, charged with “conspiracy against national security,” said he had left Iran days earlier for Europe.

The director’s statement was published by Films Boutique and Parallel45, which distribute Rasoulof’s recently filmed drama “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” (worldwide release: The Seed of the Sacred Fig).

The director was under pressure from Iranian authorities to remove the film from the Cannes Film Festival, which opens tomorrow in France.

Mohammad Rasoulof said that he did not have to think long about making the decision to leave. “I had to choose between prison and emigration. With a heavy heart, I chose voluntary exile.”