Jafar Panahi sentenced to five years in prison by Tehran court

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The verdict also includes the confiscation of all his movable and immovable property, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year prohibition on social media activity.

Panahi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, reported that the director only discovered the ruling after his bank accounts were frozen. Nili noted several irregularities in the judicial process, stating that while court documents claim Panahi is abroad, the director has been in Iran since returning in March 2026. Furthermore, the lawyer highlighted that an arrest warrant was issued on a day when Panahi was physically present in court for a different case.

The award-winning director, who recently won the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival for ‘It Was Just an Accident’, faces multiple open legal cases. This latest sentence follows a history of legal battles with Iranian authorities, including previous prison terms and bans on filmmaking and traveling.