Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who has been in prison for six months, has said he has begun a hunger strike to protest prison conditions, his wife said in a statement today.

"Today, like many people trapped in Iran, I have no choice but to protest against the inhumane treatment of something most precious to me – my life. I will refuse to eat and drink and take medicine until I am released. I will remain in this state until, perhaps, my lifeless body is released from prison," the director said in a statement.

Panahi, 63, whose films have won awards at several European film festivals, was arrested in July - ahead of a wave of protests that have rocked the country since last September. Although he hoped to be released last month, he is still in Evin prison in Tehran. He started his hunger strike the day before yesterday, on February 1.

Pahani won the Golden Lion at Mostra in Venice in 2000 for the film The Circle, in 2015 he won the Golden Bear in Berlin for Taxi Teheran and in 2018 he won the best screenplay award for Three Faces . at the Cannes festival.

"We stand in solidarity with Iranians fighting for their rights, condemn his arrest and call for his release," the Berlin Film Festival said on Twitter.

And the associations of film workers in France supported Panahi, standing against "his persecution by Iran's repressive and freedom-killing authorities." The Cannes Film Festival said it "affirms its full support for (Panahi)", as do many artists, festivals and organizations around the world.

Panakhi's last film, the drama No Bears (Khers nist), which, like most of his works, starred the director himself, was shown at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, when the director was already behind bars. The achievement received a special award from the jury.

Panahi's arrest in July came after he attended a court hearing for fellow filmmaker Mohamed Rasuloff, who had been detained a few days earlier.