An Iranian court has sentenced internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who is of Azerbaijani origin, to five years and one month in prison, alongside additional restrictions on his property, travel and social media activity. According to Iranian news outlet Emtedad, the Tehran Revolutionary Court also ordered the confiscation of Panahi's property and imposed a two-year ban on his use of social media and travel outside Iran. Panahi's lawyer, Mostafa Nili, said the verdict was issued in the director's absence.
According to Nili, the filmmaker's bank accounts were frozen last week without prior notification. The lawyer subsequently contacted the prosecutor's office to determine the reason for the restrictions and learned that a court ruling had been issued against his client. The specific charges underlying the latest sentence have not been disclosed.
The court's ruling reportedly states that Panahi resides outside Iran. However, his lawyer disputed that assertion, explaining that the director had returned to the country following a visit to Los Angeles, where he attended the Academy Awards ceremony. Panahi's film Just a Coincidence received nominations for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars.
Born in Mianeh, a city in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, Panahi is among the country's most internationally recognised filmmakers, having received numerous awards at major international film festivals. In 2025, Just a Coincidence won the Palme d'Or, the highest honour awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. The latest sentence adds to a long history of legal restrictions imposed on the filmmaker by Iranian authorities.
In 2010, Panahi was subjected to bans on filmmaking, speaking to the media and travelling abroad, significantly restricting his professional activities. He was subsequently arrested in 2022 and spent approximately seven months in detention before being released. Despite these restrictions, Panahi has continued to receive international recognition for his work.
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