Miri who has notable films including 'Unfinished Piece' and 'The Book of Law' in his career wrote in the first part of his letter: "These days I am accidentally in Venice, Italy while Panahi is accidentally held captive in prison!"
It follows: "I visited the famous prison of the city located in San Marco Square. It's a place where according to the figures is visited by more than 200,000 people a day. In the meantime our guide constantly described the symbol of peace, tranquility and friendship in the city. He told us at the lowest floor we will see a window which opens to the statue of the Winged Lion, the symbol of Venice which signifies peace and justice. The prisoners of the city were able to see the Winged Lion and serve their time while they were watching such a picture of freedom.
But unfortunately the Iranian filmmaker who won the Golden Winged Lion of Venice is in a prison without a window to watch his city through it!"
A supporter of opposition Green movement, Panahi was detained by security forces on March 2 reportedly along with his wife, daughter and 15 friends in his home. All of them except him released later.
As a leading figure of Iranian modern cinema, he received the Camera d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995 for his debut feature 'The White Balloon' and won the Golden Lion prize at Venice for his 2000 drama 'The Circle'. His other films which gained the attention of local and international critics include 'Crimson Gold' and 'Offside'. However his films which focus on social predicaments and are not considered political have been banned from public screening in Iran.
Tehran's Prosecutor General, Abbas Ja'fari Dolat-Abadi said earlier that Panahi had been arrested for committing certain offenses. He didn't elaborate on the offenses, but declared that the arrest was not related to Panahi's profession or to politics.
Miri's letter concludes: "Believing the concept of peace and justice, Panahi took his Winged Lion to Bagh Ferdos St, dedicated it to Iran's Cinema Museum to make us believe the same concept. I wish we believe his belief in peace, since here in Italy all Iranians are proud of Ja'far Panahi, the winner of the Golden lion. We must not treat our national sources of pride in such a way."
It should be noted that in the aftermath of Panahi's detention, artists from around the world including prominent British director Ken Loach called for his the release.
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