TEHRAN, Iran: Just weeks before the Academy Awards, an Iranian screenwriter, nominated for an Oscar for the Iranian drama "It Was Just an Accident," has been arrested in Tehran.

Representatives for the film said over the weekend that Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested on January 31. While the charges against Mahmoudian were not detailed, his arrest came a few days after Mahmoudian and 16 others signed a statement condemning Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime's violent crackdown on demonstrators.

Two other signatories, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni, were also arrested.

Jafar Panahi, the award-winning director of "It Was Just an Accident," released a statement a day after his co-writer was arrested, criticizing the arrest.

Panahi said Mehdi Mahmoudian is more than just a human rights activist or a prisoner of conscience. He described him as someone who listens to people and has strong morals, and said his absence is quickly noticed both inside and outside the prison.

Panahi also signed a January 28 statement that partly said the large-scale killing of citizens who protested against the government amounts to an organized crime against humanity by the state.

"It Was Just an Accident" is nominated for Best Screenplay and Best International Film at the Oscars on March 15. The movie was secretly filmed in Iran and was France's official entry for Best International Film.

Panahi, who is widely respected around the world, has continued making movies even while facing prison time, house arrest, and travel bans. The film — a revenge drama that won the top prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival — was inspired by his latest time in prison, where he met Mahmoudian. Panahi called Mahmoudian a strong supporter of other prisoners.

Panahi, Mahmoudian, Nader Saeiver, and Shadhmer Rastin wrote the film.

Last autumn, Panahi was sentenced again to one year in prison and banned from leaving Iran for two years after being found guilty of "propaganda against the system." Despite this, he has been traveling internationally with the film and says he still plans to return to Iran.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which uses sources inside Iran, reports that more than 6,700 people have been killed and about 49,500 detained in the recent government crackdown. However, the Associated Press says it cannot independently confirm these numbers because Iranian authorities have restricted internet access.

Panahi has often spoken against the crackdown. At an awards event in New York last month, he said the Iranian government is shooting protesters and that a brutal massacre is happening openly in the streets. He added that the real drama is not in films but in what is happening in Iran, accusing the government of causing bloodshed to stay in power.