An Iranian filmmaker has apparently committed suicide two months after he was wrongly arrested for taking part in an anti-regime protest.

Documentary director and movie critic Mohsen Jafari-Rad, 36, had been seized by security forces as he returned to his home in Karaj in November.

Street demonstrations against the Iranian government had been going on at the time.

He was released from custody after two weeks, after he was able to prove he had not been protesting.

Now movie colleagues have told how he took an overdose and took his own life on 7th January.

Fellow film critic Hoshang Golmakani wrote on social media: “Our colleague committed suicide by taking pills.”

There have been several reports of political prisoners taking their own lives after being released from custody in Iran.

According to some sources, officials are giving detainees powerful drugs that keep them quiet but can cause suicidal tendencies when they stop taking them.

Mohsen wrote for several film magazines, notably ‘Film-e Emrouz’, which is directed by Golmakani.

He had a master’s degree in cinema and made several short films and documentaries over 15 years.

Protests broke out in Iran on 16th September after morality police fatally beat 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini for wearing her hijab “improperly”.

At least 481 protesters have been killed, while at least 109 are facing execution or death-penalty charges or sentences, according to the non-profit Iran Human Rights.