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# Oscar-nominated co-writer of ‘It Was Just an Accident’ released from Iranian prison

February 13, 2026 | Staff Reporterd
This image released by Neon shows, from left, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr as Hamid, Majid Panahi as Ali, Hadis Pakbaten as Goli, in a scene from “It Was Just an Accident.”

Local news reports say that Mehdi Mahmoudian, who co-wrote "It Was Just an Accident" and was nominated for an Oscar, has been released from an Iranian prison 17 days after his imprisonment.

Mahmoudian was taken into custody in Tehran not long after signing a statement that criticized the harsh assault on protesters by the Islamic Republic's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He and two other people who signed the statement, Vida Rabbani and Abdollah Momeni, were let go from the Nowshahr prison on Tuesday.

There were no more information right away about any allegations against Mahmoudian. They all got out on bond.

The Academy Awards have nominated Mahmoudian, Nader Saeivar, Shadmehr Rastin, and director Jafar Panahi for best original screenplay. The movie, which is a revenge drama based on Panahi's own time in jail, is also up for best international feature as an entry from France.

Panahi stated in a statement on Tuesday, "Mehdi Mahmoudian, Vida Rabbani, and Abdollah Momeni peacefully exercised their right to express their views, but the regime responded by accusing them of 'insulting the Supreme Leader' and 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic.'" "For years, these kinds of charges have been used to make people afraid, stop criticism, and make people afraid of what they think. Making a nonviolent and civil deed into a national security case is a clear evidence that people don't want to hear independent perspectives.

Mahmoudian is a writer and political activist who has been in jail several times before, notably for five years on allegations of "mutiny against the regime." The Islamic Republic administration has put Panahi in jail and under house detention. He first met him in jail.

Last month, there were protests all around Iran that murdered thousands of people. There has been more international pressure on the dictatorship to stop cracking down on protesters, including a big protest in Munich over the weekend. On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that changing the government in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen."

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