Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Publish date: December 24 • Printable version    

Iran's Academy of Arts deputy resigns in protest


Mohammad Mehdi Heydarian

In protest to the dismissal of MirHosein Mousavi from his government position as the head of the Academy of Arts, Deputy Chief of the Academy, Mohammad Mehdi Heydarian has resigned.

According to ILNA, Mr. Heydarian has not been to the Academy since the announcement of MirHosein Mousavi’s dismissal.

Mohammad Mehdi Heydarian was the deputy coordinator of film and cinema at the Ministry of Culture during the term of reformist president Mohammad Khatami. At the time he criticized the heavy interference of the establishment in the country’s cinematic output and called for greater liberty for filmmakers.

The Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution headed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed MirHosein Mousavi on Monday as a direct attack on the opposition leader for his refusal to back off from allegations of fraud in the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June presidential elections.

Earlier, Reza Moradi Ghiasabadi, researcher and writer at the Academy of Arts also ended his collaboration with the Academy to protest the dismissal of Mr. Mousavi.

The Academy of Arts was established in 1999 with the objective of “protecting the cultural heritage of the country.” Opposition leader MirHosein Mousavi had been head of the Academy since its founding.

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