Film
Jafar Panahi sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison; Palme d'Or winner also faces asset seizure
Tehran's Revolutionary Court is confiscating all of the Iranian director's assets and banning him from travel and social media for two years, according to his lawyer.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 28, 2026, 14:30 · Updated 18:42 · 1 min read
In brief
- Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court sentenced Jafar Panahi in absentia to five years and one month in prison.
- According to lawyer Mostafa Nili, the ruling also includes the confiscation of his assets and a two-year travel and social media ban.
- The charges behind the new sentence have not been made public; the director is in Iran and faces three legal proceedings.
Iranian director Jafar Panahi, winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, has been sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison by Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court. The news was first reported by the Iranian reformist agency Emtedad and confirmed by his lawyer, Mostafa Nili.
Asset seizure and bans
According to the lawyer, the ruling also provides for the confiscation of all of Panahi's assets, a two-year ban on using social media and a ban on traveling abroad for the same period. Panahi was not notified of the hearing, and the charges on which the new sentence is based have not been publicly clarified.
Court documents claimed the director was abroad and could not be reached. But according to Euronews, Panahi returned to Iran on March 30 and in August appeared before an investigative court in a separate case. He is currently in Iran and faces three legal proceedings.
A long clash with the authorities
In December 2025, Panahi was sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban for “propaganda activities against the regime,” a ruling upheld on appeal. The director has clashed with Iranian authorities since 2003, has been imprisoned twice and has been banned from making films. In 2022–2023 he spent 86 days in Evin prison.
His film “It Was Just an Accident” won the Palme d'Or in 2025. It tells the story of several formerly imprisoned Iranians who weigh taking revenge on a man they believe was their jailer and torturer. Panahi co-wrote the screenplay with activist Mehdi Mahmoudian, who was arrested again earlier this year.
