Security Forces Unlawfully Close Iran’s House of Cinema

Arseh Sevom believes that the interference from governmental bodies and security forces is the primary cause for the problems facing one of the biggest NGOs in Iran. What has happened to the members of House of Cinema in the past few years is a violation of their rights as recognized by the international community and by article 26 of Iran’s own constitution. Over the past few years, members of the House of Cinema have been under pressure from security forces. Now, security forces have locked them out of their own building.

Arseh Sevom –In Tehran, security forces, acting on an order from the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, shut down the building that was home to Iran’s House of Cinema. Authorities had already been preventing the cultural institute from performing routine activities for quite some time.

The cultural institution had been closed before, in 2012. The members of the House of Cinema appealed the closure in the courts and was given permission by the judiciary to reopen. This did not end their dispute with the Ministry of Culture and Guidance or security forces, however.

The court decision mandated a review of the organization’s statutes. A seven member committee was formed to revise the statutes of the decades old organization in a way that led to agreement by both the House of Cinema and the Ministry of Culture and Guidance.

Three representatives from the House of Cinema, three representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Guidance, and one representative from the president’s office wrote the new statutes. An August 2013 vote was planned for members of the House of Cinema to approve the new statutes. In the meantime, the new organization Iranian Cinema Guild House was created and claimed ownership of the House of Cinema’s office and its properties in Tehran. The Iranian Cinema Guild House was formed as a replacement for the independent House of Cinema. Many filmmakers, actors, and others working in the film industry have complained that the new organization does not represent their interests.

In a letter to Javad Shamaghdari, director of film at the Ministry of Culture and Guidance, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asked that the House of Cinema be reinstated. Shamaghdari did not agree.

Interference from Security Forces Causes Problems

Arseh Sevom believes that the interference from governmental bodies and security forces is the primary cause for the problems facing one of the biggest NGOs in Iran. What has happened to the members of House of Cinema in the past few years is a violation of their rights recognized by the international community and article 26 of Iran’s own constitution. Over the past few years, members of the House of Cinema have been under pressure from security forces.

Arseh Sevom condemns the closure of Iran’s House of Cinema, supports the protests of its members and asks the Iranian government to settle the problem based on previous agreements and the organization’s statutes.

Arseh Sevom supports the requests of House of Cinema’s members including:

• Government approval of copyright law to protect cinematic productions in Iran.
• Approval of the cinema structure law to cover the rights of those who are active in Iranian cinema.
• Providing facilities for participation in cultural and artistic projects and creating a competitive atmosphere.
• Organizing subsidies for cinema.
• Providing job security for those working in the field of cinema.

Arseh Sevom, asks all human rights and civil society organizations to share this statement and protest against the unlawful closure of the House of Cinema in Tehran.

Special thanks to the Persian Dutch Network and Pejman Akbarzadeh for translating this piece from Persian.