Filmmaker jailed in Iran for refusing plot against Masih Alinejad

Iran International has learned that Iranian filmmaker Navid Mihandoust was jailed for refusing to cooperate with Iran's Intelligence Ministry in targeting US-based journalist and women's rights activist Masih Alinejad.

In an interview with Iran International, Neda Mihandoust revealed that intelligence agents pressured her brother Navid to contact Alinejad under the pretense of making a new documentary about women. When Navid refused, the state retaliated by re-arresting him in August 2023, placing him in Evin Prison to serve a three-year sentence.

First arrested in December 2019, Navid was taken to Evin Prison’s notorious ward 209, run by the Ministry of Intelligence, on charges related to a 2009 documentary about Alinejad. After two months of interrogation, he was released on bail in February 2020. The presiding Judge of Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, Mohammad Reza Amouzad, notorious for issuing long and harsh sentences, and sanctioned by the UK and Canada for being involved in serious human rights violations, sentenced him to three years in prison.

Neda told Iran International that after Navid was released on bail, intelligence agents repeatedly pressured him to cooperate by reaching out to Alinejad.

“The interrogator told my brother that if he complied, they could halt the execution of Navid's sentence…every few weeks, he kept contacting Navid and asking him for an answer…The interrogator was asking him to call Masih,” Neda said.

This pressure coincided with a broader plot by Iranian intelligence to kidnap Alinejad and lure her back to Iran, where she could face the same fate as Iranian dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was executed in Iran after being abducted.

“The incident coincided exactly with the disclosure of the Islamic Republic's plan to kidnap Masih Alinejad, which was stopped by the FBI,” Neda added​.

US Justice Department announced in July 2021 that the FBI had foiled an attempt by Iranian intelligence agents to abduct Alinejad, luring her back to Iran in a plot that had been in the works since at least June 2020. Four Iranian nationals were indicted for their involvement in the plot​.

Alinejad, speaking to Iran International, expressed deep concern over these developments, stating, "I am gravely concerned to learn that Iran’s security apparatus has attempted to coerce an innocent filmmaker into leveraging his connection with me in an effort to cause harm. This disturbing incident highlights the ongoing misuse of Iran’s judiciary by security forces to fabricate charges against innocent citizens, compelling them to collaborate with the regime or serve as instruments in their nefarious objectives."

She added, "These actions provide further evidence that Iran’s judiciary functions not as a genuine system of justice, but as a mere tool in the hands of the security apparatus."

Navid’s refusal to cooperate with the authorities led to multiple warnings and pressure tactics, including the freezing of his bank accounts, and his eventual re-arrest in August 2023. "They warned him that if he didn’t turn himself in, they would take action against his bail. Eventually, after the third warning, they closed his bank accounts to put pressure on him," Neda said.

While on bail, despite a ban on making films and the pressures from Iran’s intelligence agents, Navid turned his experiences into a source of inspiration, directing the underground film Café. The film, starring Setareh Maleki is currently being screened at the Incríveis Film Festival in São Paulo.

Speaking to Iran International, Maleki, who herself was forced to flee Iran following her appearance without the mandated hijab in another underground film commented on Navid’s courage despite state pressures: "Navid truly stood by his principles and refused to cooperate with them to avoid prison. While awaiting his sentence, he made this film underground and without a permit."

The film tells the story of Sohrab, a once-prominent director who, after being banned from filmmaking, spends his days in a cafe.

Maleki also noted that the character Sohrab is deeply reflective of Navid himself. "When I read the script, I asked Navid if the character Sohrab was him. He laughed and said, ‘No, it’s not me.’ But after his sentence came and I learned more of his story, I realized it was him. He created the character of Sohrab so that even behind bars, he could still breathe on the cinema screen."​

Although there has been no update on Navid’s case, even behind bars, he continues to resist.

“On August 20, 2024, it will be exactly one year since Navid was imprisoned in Evin. Initially held in Ward 4, he was placed in solitary confinement for three days after sharing the story of a fellow prisoner who died due to delayed medical attention. During that time, he went on a hunger strike to protest his confinement. Afterward, he was moved to Ward 8,” Neda explained.

Asked if Neda herself has faced any threats by the Iranian authorities while advocating for Navid's release outside of Iran, Neda said:

"Navid's interrogator told him that we have a charge against your sister, and when my brother asked him the reason, he said we can explain it to her when she comes to Iran."

As Navid serves his sentence, his story highlights the ongoing struggle for artistic freedom and the Islamic Republic’s pattern of transnational repression, using intimidation and punishment to silence critics both within Iran and beyond its borders.