Alwaght- The Iranian director nominated for the best foreign language film Oscar award said he will not attend the awards ceremony protesting the recent anti-Muslim travel ban order by the US president.
Asghar Farhadi who has been awarded the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for his "A Separation" said he would not attend even if granted an exception to the travel ban.
In a statement to the New York Times, Farhadi said he previously planned on attending the event with his cinematographer but would not now in light of the executive order Trump signed Friday that banned citizens of 7 Muslim majority countries from entering the US for at least 120 days.
Based on the anti-Muslim measure, those born in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will not be allowed inside the US even if holding a valid visa.
"I have decided to not attend the Academy Awards Ceremony alongside my fellow members of the cinematic community," Farhadi, whose movie "The Salesman" is up for Best Foreign Language Film, told the Times. "I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations."
A day before Trump signed the executive order, "The Salesman" actress Taraneh Alidoosti announced that she would be boycotting the awards ceremony to show her objection to talks of a ban.
On Twitter, the 33-year-old actress said: "Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest."
