Mehdi Mahmoudian freed after 17 days in an Iranian prison on bail.
He was detained for signing a statement criticizing Iran’s leadership and handling of protests.
The film he co-wrote is nominated for two Academy Awards this year.
Mehdi Mahmoudian, the Oscar-nominated co-writer of the critically acclaimed film It Was Just an Accident, was released from an Iranian prison on February 17, 2026, after being held for 17 days following his arrest in Tehran.
Mahmoudian was detained along with journalist Vida Rabbani and activist Abdollah Momeni after they signed a public statement condemning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian government’s violent suppression of nationwide protests.
All three were released on bail from Nowshahr Prison, though authorities had accused them of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
It Was Just an Accident — co-written with Mahmoudian, Nader Saeivar, Shadmehr Rastin and director Jafar Panahi — is nominated at the 98th Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film
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