Iranian filmmaker Panahi freed from prison

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, incarcerated in Tehran since early March, has been released from prison.

The internationally renowned director, whose movies have been acclaimed at top film festivals such as Cannes and Berlin, was released on about $200,000 US bail on Tuesday, according to a report from Iranian state TV.

However, the indictment against him will still be sent to a revolutionary court for future action, according to the report.

It is unclear what charges Panahi faces. A state prosecutor has said that the detention was "not because he is an artist or for political reasons," but that the filmmaker was suspected of committing "offences."

Police took the 49-year-old Panahi into custody on March 1, arresting him and his family at their Tehran home. His family was later released, but he remained in Tehran's Evin prison.

The Canadian government was among the governments, groups and individuals who had decried his detention.

Panahi, whose film Offside about female soccer fans attending a men's match in disguise won the prestigious Silver Bear as well as a grand jury prize at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival, has often clashed with authorities over his movies, which explore Iranian society, culture and politics.

He is also known as a supporter of the pro-reform party opposing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

'Let us not forget the thousands of defenseless prisoners here, who have no one to pass on the message of their distress. Like me, they have committed no crime. And my blood is no more important than theirs.' Filmmaker Jafar Panahi

Top filmmakers from around the globe including Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Ang Lee and Robert Redford recently rallied together at the Cannes film festival and via international film websites to condemn Panahi's detention.

He had been slated to be a member ofTim Burton's jury at Cannes this year. An empty chair was left out for him throughout the festival as a sign of protest.

Earlier this month, French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lvy published a message from Panahi, conveyed from his prison cell, thanking the many individuals attempting to secure his release.

"Your voices are joined with those of my wife, my children, and those of all of my compatriots working for my freedom, that reach me from beyond these prison walls. But let us not forget the thousands of defenseless prisoners here, who have no one to pass on the message of their distress. Like me, they have committed no crime. And my blood is no more important than theirs," he wrote.

"Despite being threatened, I can assure you I shall sign no coerced confession. I am innocent. I have produced no film against the Iranian regime."

Last week, Panahi went on a hunger strike protesting his imprisonment and demanded to see a lawyer, his family and to be released pending a trial.

Since the controversial and disputedre-election of Ahmadinejad in 2009 and amidthe government's harsh clamp down on street protesters, a host of notable Iranian public figures have been outspoken in their criticism.

Since last August, the government has detained dozens of political activists and individuals, accusing them of sparking civil unrest and sentencing them to prison terms or to death.