Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili on judicial rulings against artists despite their efforts to prevent any mishaps

Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili has tried to prevent any unjust judicial rulings against artists, despite the biases. We have made efforts to ensure that no harm comes to the artistic community.

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

Mr. Esmaeili stated that these rulings are issued by the judicial system and are determined by the judges. Even as the head of the judiciary, I cannot tell a judge what ruling to issue.

In recent months, the issued rulings against Iranian artists have faced negative public reactions. These rulings include bans on artistic activities and even restrictions on social interactions with the cultural community.

The latest ruling in this regard is a 5-year ban on social interactions with the cinema community imposed on Saeed Roustaee, the director of the film ‘Brothers of Leila’. Mr. Roustaee has also been sentenced to study at the Qom branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) College.

The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance has criticized the artistic community of this country, stating that despite the privileges that some artists had in relation to the people and their ideals, we have made efforts to prevent any suffering within the artistic community, and our efforts have been focused on reducing the severity of the rulings as much as possible.