He returned to the country six months ago – after presenting his film abroad, which won the Cannes Film Festival's main award, the "Golden Palm".
Iranian director Jafar Panahi, a Golden Palm laureate of the Cannes Film Festival, who previously faced a year in prison, has now been sentenced by the Tehran Revolutionary Court to five years and one month of imprisonment under a separate ruling. This was reported by Variety, citing the Emtedad news agency.
Panahi's lawyer, Mostafa Nili, informed Emtedad that the court sentenced his client in absentia to five years and one month of imprisonment. However, the execution of both court rulings is not mandatory. Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of Panahi's property, prohibited him from using social media for two years, and banned him from leaving the country for the same period.
The charges that served as the basis for this case are currently unknown. According to the lawyer, after Panahi's bank accounts were unexpectedly frozen last week, he visited the prosecutor's office in Tehran with the director, where he learned about the in absentia verdict.
As reported by Nili, the case materials claimed that Panahi was living outside Iran. However, the director returned to the country on March 30, 2026 — shortly after the 98th Academy Awards ceremony.
His latest film "It Was Just an Accident" was nominated for an award in the "Best International Feature Film" category as a candidate from France.
Over the past two decades, Panahi has repeatedly faced persecution by Iranian authorities.
In 2010, the renowned director, who gained international recognition with award-winning films such as "The Circle", "Offside", "This Is Not a Film", "Taxi", and "No Bears", was banned from making films, speaking to the press, and traveling abroad. Despite the prohibitions, he continued to secretly create films.
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