Jafar Panahi sentenced to five years and one month in Iran, lawyer says

Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison, according to his lawyer, who also says a court ordered his assets seized and imposed two-year bans on travel and social media. The accusation behind the latest ruling remains unclear.

Lawyer Mostafa Nili told Iranian media that a Tehran court issued the sentence. He said he learnt of the proceedings after Panahi’s bank accounts were frozen, and that his client had not been told the hearing date. A friend told the Associated Press that Panahi had not been detained after the ruling.

The sentence is separate from a one-year prison term Panahi received in absentia last year for “propaganda activities against the system”. He returned to Iran in March, after travelling abroad to promote his film *It Was Just an Accident*, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2025.

The new case has prompted concern among fellow artists about the risks faced by people working independently in Iran. The precise charges have not been made clear.