Prominent Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced one year in prison for alleged propaganda against the Islamic Republic, his lawyer said on X, as his latest film may be up for an international feature Oscar.
Mostafa Nili said Panahi was sentenced in absentia and that Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court also imposed a two-year travel ban and barred him from membership in any political or social organizations.
Panahi had travelled to the United States to collect three awards, including best director, at the Gotham Awards in New York for his latest film, It Was Just an Accident.
As one of Iran’s most acclaimed directors and a winner of major international film awards, Panahi has faced repeated arrest and curbs on his work in recent years.
In May, Panahi received the Palme d’Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival for his film It Was Just an Accident, a political thriller shot secretly in Iran without government authorization and in open defiance of the country’s compulsory hijab laws.
In his acceptance speech, Panahi urged unity among Iranians striving for democracy: "Let's set aside our differences. The important thing now is the freedom of our country, so that no one would dare to tell us what to wear or what film to make."
In September, France selected the film as its submission for the Academy Awards in the international feature category, giving the filmmaker a path to Hollywood that Tehran was unlikely to offer.
The 98th Academy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.
Panahi has spent much of the past 15 years under house arrest or in prison. He was arrested in July 2022 after he protested against the arrest of two fellow filmmakers who had voiced criticism of the authorities. He was sentenced to six years in prison before being released on bail in early 2023.
