Tehran court sentences Iranian director Jafar Panahi to five years in prison

A Tehran court has sentenced the Oscar-nominated Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi in absentia to five years and one month in prison. Euronews, IndieWire, and Variety all reported that Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court issued the ruling. Euronews and Variety noted that the sentence was first reported to the Iranian reformist media outlet Emtedad News Agency. [1][2][3]

According to reports by Euronews and IndieWire, the new court ruling includes the confiscation of all of the director's assets. He also faces a two-year ban on engaging in social media activities and a two-year ban on travel. Variety reported that these penalties came directly from details provided by his lawyer, Mostafa Nili. [1][2][3]

This latest ruling comes on top of an earlier conviction. Euronews and Variety reported that Panahi was convicted in December 2025 for propaganda activities against the regime, which had carried a separate one-year prison sentence and a two-year travel ban. [1][3]

Panahi returned to Iran earlier this year following an international push for his thriller film, It Was Just an Accident. IndieWire reported that the film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025. The filmmaker has previously faced numerous arrests, imprisonments, and house arrest by Iranian authorities. [1][2]

Panahi is widely known for his artistic contributions to post-1979 Revolution Iranian cinema and the Iranian New Wave. In December 2010, an Iranian court convicted him on charges of propaganda against the state, imposing a six-year prison sentence alongside a 20-year ban on directing and international travel. [9][11]