Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili on Judicial Rulings Against Artists: Despite the Disregard, We Tried to Prevent Any Incidents

Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili said regarding the judicial rulings against artists, despite the lack of consideration, we tried to prevent anything from happening.

Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Iran, has commented on the judicial rulings against Iranian artists.

Mr. Esmaeili stated that the issued rulings are for the judiciary and are made at the judge’s discretion, not by me, and even the head of the judiciary cannot tell a judge what ruling to issue.

In recent months, the rulings issued against Iranian artists have faced negative reactions from public opinion, including bans on artistic activities and even prohibitions on socializing with the cultural community.

The latest ruling in this regard is a 5-year ban on socializing with cinema professionals against Saeed Roustayi, the director of the film ‘Leila’s Brothers.’ Mr. Roustayi has also been sentenced to study at the Qom branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting University.

The Iranian Minister of Culture criticized the country’s artistic community, saying that despite the lack of consideration shown by some artistic figures towards the people and their ideals, we tried to prevent anything from happening that would upset the artistic community, and as much as possible, our efforts have been to mitigate the actions.