Police in Iran have arrested internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi and his family.
Plainclothes police entered Panahi's family home and arrested him, his wife and daughter and 15 other guests, his son Panah told reporters.
Known for his social realism, Panahi has made several films critical of Iran's regime. However, the Tehran prosecutor's office, while confirming the arrest, denied it was connected to politics.
"He is accused of some crimes and was arrested with another person following an order by a judge," prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi told the semi-official ISNA news agency.
Panahi's "The White Balloon" took the Camera d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995.
