Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Iranian drama ‘It Was Just an Accident’ arrested in Tehran

One of the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of the Iranian drama “It Was Just an Accident” has been arrested in Tehran just weeks before the Academy Awards.

Representatives for the film on Sunday said that Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested Saturday. No details on the charges against Mahmoudian were available. But his arrest came just days after Mahmoudian and 16 others signed a statement condemning Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime’s violent crackdown on demonstrators.