Jafar Panahi sentenced in absentia to five years in prison and confiscation of property

New in-absentia verdict

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, winner of the Palme d'Or for the film It Was Just an Accident, has been sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison. His lawyer Mostafa Nili reported that the verdict also provides for the confiscation of all property, a two-year ban on social media activity, and a two-year travel ban. The decision by Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court was first reported by the reformist online outlet Emtedad News Agency, Euronews writes.

Contradictions in the court documents

The ruling was issued without notifying Panahi of the hearing, and the charges underlying it have not been publicly specified. According to the lawyer, the court documents claim that the filmmaker is abroad and cannot be reached — even though, according to the same information, Panahi returned to Iran on March 30 and appeared before an investigative court in August in a separate case. He is currently in Iran and, according to the defense, is named in three ongoing legal proceedings.

A second verdict within a year

The new decision follows the December 2025 verdict for 'propaganda activity against the regime' — at that time the court imposed one year in prison and a two-year travel ban, and the appeal upheld it. Between these proceedings, Panahi managed to win the Palme d'Or in Cannes and return home after the Oscars ceremony, where his film was nominated for Best International Feature Film. Thus, in less than a year the filmmaker has received two prison sentences, both in absentia, and the combined term could amount to about six years if the sentences are not merged by the court — sources do not report on this.

Context: a filmmaker under pressure from the authorities

Panahi has been in conflict with the Iranian authorities since 2003; he has served prison terms twice and was banned from making films. In 2022–2023 he spent 86 days in Evin prison on old charges and for protesting the arrest of his colleague Mohammad Rasoulof; he was released after a hunger strike. In prison he met the activist Mehdi Mahmoudian, with whom he wrote the screenplay for It Was Just an Accident — a thriller about former prisoners contemplating revenge on their jailer. Mahmoudian was arrested again in early 2026 on charges of 'insulting the Supreme Leader' and 'propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' Despite the bans, Panahi continued to make films — among his works are This Is Not a Film, No Bears, and Tehran Taxi, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2015.