Cinema House, in a letter to Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the government of the Islamic Republic, expressed concern about “the conduct of certain security and judicial institutions toward film people and members of the cultural and artistic community during one of the most sensitive and turbulent periods in the country’s history.”

Without referring to details of these “security and judicial conduct,” Cinema House wrote: “In days when the shadow of war and hostile foreign threats weighs heavily on the country, and the senior officials of the country repeatedly emphasize national unity, despite social differences, the conduct of some security and judicial institutions toward the cultural and artistic community is precisely in the opposite direction of this goal.”

The institution added: “How can it be expected that the nation’s individual members will stand in a single line against enemies, when inside, what appear to be arbitrary actions strike the drum of divergence?”

Cinema House called for the issuance of “an order to halt these harmful practices and unnecessary summonses,” as well as “the formation of a committee to follow up on and provide answers to these violations, which—under these critical conditions—exacerbate social rifts.”