Tehran Revolutionary Court Issues Five-Year Prison Sentence for Filmmaker Jafar Panahi

A Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi to five years and one month in prison. The ruling also orders the confiscation of his movable and immovable assets, a two-year ban on social-media activity, and a two-year travel ban. The court issued the decision in absentia and did not notify Panahi of the hearing, according to his lawyer.

The HinduEuronewsVariety MagazineUsNews and World Report

Panahi, a Palme d’Or winner and Oscar-nominated filmmaker for *It Was Just an Accident*, has faced repeated legal pressure from Iranian authorities for more than two decades. In 2010 he was sentenced to prison and barred from filmmaking, writing, and travel, yet continued to produce internationally recognized works such as *The Circle*, *Taxi*, and *No Bears*. He was arrested in July 2022 during protests by filmmakers, spent roughly seven months in Evin prison, and was released in early 2023 after a hunger strike. A separate conviction for “propaganda activities against the regime” resulted in a one-year prison term and a two-year travel ban, which was upheld earlier this year.

Euronews

Panahi returned to Iran on March 30, 2026 after attending the ceremony for the 98th Academy Awards, where his film was nominated for Best International Feature Film. Shortly after his return, his bank accounts were frozen, prompting his legal team to learn of the new verdict.

Variety Magazine

• Prison term: 5 years 1 month

Variety Magazine

• Asset seizure: all movable and immovable assets

UsNews and World Report

• Social-media ban: 2 years

The Hindu

• Travel ban: 2 years

The Hindu

• Existing sentence: 1 year prison for “propaganda activities” (still in effect)

Variety Magazine

Mostafa Nili, Panahi’s lawyer, told the reformist outlet Emtedad that the court documents incorrectly listed Panahi as residing abroad, despite his confirmed return on March 30, 2026. Nili said the verdict was discovered only after the filmmaker’s bank accounts were frozen, and that the court’s decision remains discretionary—implementation of the prison terms is not automatic.

Variety Magazine

Hossein Razzagh, a friend of Panahi, reported that the director was not detained following the sentencing and that his bank accounts remain blocked.

UsNews and World Report

• “I am the kind of person who needs to be in his country,” — Jafar Panahi, the lawyer

Variety Magazine

Sources differ on the procedural details of the sentencing. Euronews and Variety note that the ruling was issued without Panahi being notified and that the court claimed he was abroad, contradicting his actual presence in Iran after March 30, 2026. The Associated Press-derived account confirms Panahi was not detained after the sentence but does not specify whether he received formal notice. No source provides the specific legal charges underlying the new five-year conviction, leaving the exact basis for the punishment unclear.

The Hindu