A protocol officer at the Iranian Mission to the United Nations called the police on Paul Haggis Wednesday, as the director tried to deliver a stack of petitions protesting the imprisonment of director Jafar Panahi.
Haggis, who's not known for backing down, told the Iranians he wasn't leaving the office building lobby unless they accepted the petitions, which more than 21,000 people — including Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Ron Howard and Susan Sarandon — signed.
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After what Amnesty International described as "some tense negotiations," the Iranians said they’d take the petitions — but that the protocol officer would have to inspect each one individually before he’d accept the box.
So the “Crash” director held each piece of paper up for the protocol officer. Finally, the Iranians accepted the box of materials.
Haggis was there as part of an Amnesty International effort to convince Iran to release Panahi. (Haggis, center, presents petitions to an Iranian protocol officer. Photo by Insider Images.)
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Panahi is an Iranian director who was imprisoned for three months in March 2010 on charges of making an anti-government film without permission. The Iranians convicted the “White Balloon” and “Circle” director and sentenced him to six years in prison. He also was banned from filmmaking for 20 years.
Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, his artistic collaborator, continued working and smuggled films out of Iran. Panahi secretly shot a movie while under house arrest. The movie “This Is Not a Film” was shown at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Haggis told a group of protesters outside the office building where the mission is housed, that Panahi broke no laws.
"He expressed his viewpoint peacefully. He questioned his government, following elections in which the outcome seemed less than straightforward," he said. "The right to challenge one’s government is among the most fundamental of freedoms.”
Larry Cox, Amnesty International’s executive director, said, that Panahai’s films are "celebrated around the world. But the Iranian government wants him silenced because they are afraid that his work will only inspire continuing demands for freedom and basic rights.”
Among the other Hollywood notables who signed the petition are Edward Zwick, Nancy Meyers, Hans Zimmer, Michael Apted, Gabriel Byrne, Elliott Gould, Harvey Keitel, Patrick Stewart, Josh Brolin, Emma Thomas and others.
