Iranian director Jafar Panahi handed new five-year jail term
28.10.2026
Acclaimed Iranian film director Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to another lengthy prison term, according to a media report.
A Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced the 66-year-old filmmaker to five years and one month in prison, the newspaper Emtedad reported on Wednesday, citing his lawyer, Mostafa Nili.
The court also ordered the confiscation of all his assets and imposed a two-year travel ban, according to the report.
Panahi returned to Iran in early April, while the country was at war with the US and Israel.
"Last week, my client informed me that his bank accounts had been frozen," Nili told the newspaper.
The lawyer said inquiries with the judiciary subsequently revealed that Panahi had been convicted in absentia.
The Iranian judiciary had previously sentenced the award-winning director to one year in prison for "propaganda against the system." The court cited his secretly filmed movie "It Was Just an Accident" as key evidence.
The film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025 and was also nominated for Golden Globe and Academy Awards.
Panahi has long been a prominent critic of the Iranian authorities. He was imprisoned from July 2022 until February 2023 and has faced restrictions on his work and travel for years.
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