BBC NEWS | Middle East | The strange case of Cyrus Kar — How come the “timers” are mentioned with no follow-up? Weird story. Makes no real sense.
Confirmation by the Pentagon that five US citizens have been detained in Iraq on suspicion of links to insurgents has drawn attention to the highly controversial case of Iranian-born filmmaker Cyrus Kar, said to be one of the detainees.
Mr Kar’s relatives say his constitutional rights have been trampled on, and that he is being kept in detention without trial despite the fact that the FBI has, they say, already cleared him of any suspicion.
Iranian-American film maker Cyrus Kar
Mr Kar was making a film in Iraq about namesake Cyrus the Great
On Wednesday a lawsuit was filed against the government for his release.Mr Kar is described as a patriotic American who believed in spreading democracy around the world.
A former Navy Seal raised in the western US, he had gone to Iraq to film part of a documentary about an enlightened ancient Persian king.
found by E. Campbell
This is strange because he’s allegedly a “film maker” but he’s yet to make any films, at least any that anyone has ever seen. He’s not listed in http://www.imdb.com, netflix.com, or http://www.allmovie.com. And when you search for his name on google, all you get are detainee stories.
I can’t help but think this is some soft of bizarre publicity stunt to start his film career.
He’s not in imdb because he’s a first-time filmmaker. He’s been working on the documentary for 2 years and has already filmed in several other middle east countries. (IIRC, he decided to get into filmmaking after the .com meltdown; yes, he was a dot-commer.)
As for the timers, they were in the taxi because the taxi driver was delivering them – they didn’t have anything to do with the filmmaker or his cameraman.
You get yourself arrested and imprisoned as a publicity stunt? I’ve seen conservatives so some strange things; but, nothing quite that bizarre.
Ed: How else you do explain a “film maker” who has NEVER made a film?! Heck, he might as well as claimed to be a former US President, he has the same qualifications to both positions.
Seriously, I’m not really saying it’s a publicity stunt. I’m just saying it’s bizarre enough to be one. There is something going on, I don’t know what, but we don’t know the full story. But one thing we do know for certain is that he is NOT really a film maker.
Dan, I guess that makes me an author, even though I’ve never written a book. And in the same vein I’m also a NASCAR driver, an astronaut, and a porn star.
Hi everyone,
I want to clarify somethings you’ve mentioned on this message board. Cyrus is my cousin, so I know what is fact and what is fiction.
1. This was definitely not a publicity stunt. It was very serious and terrifying for his entire family to endure.
2. This is the first time Cyrus has attempted to make a documentary. Whether him being a “filmmaker” depends on his credits or his efforts, is up for discussion. He’s worked on this project (Searching for Cyrus the Great) for almost 3 years and has researched every detail from the life of Cyrus the Great to which camera would be best for the footage he wanted. The media has dubbed him a “filmmaker” to get the story out there, but he never boasts that he’s a film/documentary maker. I’ve never heard him call himself a filmmaker. So please don’t criticize him for the lable. He’s more of a historian anyways.
3. The FBI told my family there was *A* washing machine timer in the taxi. When the governement spokespersons FINALLY decided to give the media information (they NEVER answered any of our questions the entire time), they first said there were a dozen timers, then said dozens of timers, and then 35 timers. So we’ll wait for Cyrus to get home and ask him exactly how many timers there were.
If you want more info. Go to http://www.freecyruskar.org It’s still underconstruction, so stay tuned. Thanks for caring enough to discuss this.
km
this man has more understanding and forgivenenss for our country in his pinkie than most of us have in our whole bodies. to be held for that long, in solitary lock down, denied ability to see an attorney, representetative from the embassy, anything to make the military to understand that he was cooperative, and it was all for not, and then for mr.kar to come out of this whole experience with a positive attitude about his country, speaks volumes about his character. i look forward to his work and hope that he doesn’t become discouraged along the way.