Iran sentences Oscar-nominated director Jafar Panahi to five years in absentia, claiming he is abroad when he IS in Iran
Jafar Panahi, whose Palme d'Or-winning film was cited as evidence against him, has been sentenced to five years in prison and had all his bank accounts frozen by a Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Iranian director Jafar Panahi, whose Palme d'Or-winning thriller 'It Was Just an Accident' earned an Oscar nomination for France, has had his bank accounts frozen and all movable and immovable assets confiscated under a ruling from Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court. His lawyer Mostafa Nili discovered the sentence only after visiting the Sentence Enforcement Office — Panahi was never notified of a hearing. The court file falsely stated he was abroad, despite his return to Iran on 30 March 2026.
The charges underlying the new conviction have not been publicly clarified, and the sentence was handed down in absentia alongside a two-year travel ban and a two-year social media ban.
Panahi spoke to a friend on the evening of the sentencing and had not yet been detained; the sentence can be appealed, his lawyer says.
This latest ruling piles on top of a December 2025 conviction for 'propaganda activities against the regime', which itself carried a one-year sentence upheld on appeal.
