Prison sentence for Iranian director: Palme d'Or winner sentenced in Iran

dpa | Renowned Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison, according to a report. This is reported by the Emtedad newspaper, citing Panahi's lawyer Mostafa Nili.

A revolutionary court in Tehran also ordered the confiscation of all assets and imposed a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on using social media. It is unclear what allegations will be made against the 66-year-old in these proceedings. According to Nili, it is also at the discretion of the authorities whether the sentences against Panahi are carried out at all.

Panahi returned to Iran at the beginning of April, shortly after the Oscars. His film “A Simple Accident” was nominated as France's entry. “Last week my client announced that his bank accounts had been blocked,” Nili told the newspaper. When he then went with Panahi to the Tehran public prosecutor's office, he found out about the verdict. The file is said to have stated that Panahi lived abroad.

Panahi had previously been sentenced to one year in prison for “propaganda against the system”. A court cited his secretly shot film “A Simple Accident” as central evidence. The work won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 2025 and was also nominated for the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Panahi has been a prominent critic of the system for years. He was imprisoned from July 2022 to February 2023. Already in 2010 he was banned from working and traveling and was also not allowed to speak to the press. Nevertheless, he continued to make films secretly.