Asghar Farhadi absent at Oscars in protest against Trump’s travel ban, but bags an award

The Iranian director’s "The Salesman" bags best foreign film Oscar

Anousheh Ansari accepts the award for best foreign language film for "The Salesman" on behalf of Asghar Farhadi at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi did not attend this year’s Academy awards function in protest against United States President Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim countries, but won his career’s second best foreign film Oscar for “The Salesman”.

Farhadi's strong worded, political speech took the centre stage as it was read out by a representative of the film.

Calling the win a “great honour”, Farhadi thanked the Academy for giving him the valuable award for the second time as well as the cast, crew of the film and fellow nominees.

“I am sorry I am not with you tonight, my absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans immigrants to the U.S. Dividing the world into us and our enemies categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war,” Farhadi’s said.

In this February 26, 2017 picture, Director Asghar Farhadi speaks via a video link at the screening of the film “The Salesman” in Trafalgar Square in London, Britain.

Farhadi, who earlier won the Oscar for “A Separation” in 2012, was not the frontrunner initially, as many thought the trophy would go to German drama “Toni Erdmann”. But his decision to boycott the ceremony seems to have propelled the voters to honour him in a clear statement against Mr. Trump’s immigration policy.

“These wars prevent human right and democracy in countries, which themselves have been victims of aggression. We need empathy more than ever,”he said.