Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Sentenced to Over 5 Years in Prison, All Assets Seized

An Iranian court has handed renowned director Jafar Panahi an additional prison sentence of five years and one month, while ordering the complete confiscation of his assets. The verdict marks another escalation in the judicial measures targeting independent artists and cultural figures in Iran.

Panahi, 66, who received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last year for his film It Was Just an Accident, was tried and convicted in absentia. His defense attorney, Mostafa Nili, confirmed to Iranian news outlet Emtedad that the court additionally handed down a two-year travel ban alongside a two-year suspension of his access to social media platforms.

Unnotified Proceedings and Frozen Accounts

The precise legal grounds behind the new sentence have not been disclosed. Panahi returned to Iran in March following an international promotional tour for his film, despite previously receiving a one-year in absentia sentence for alleged “propaganda against the system.”

According to his attorney:

• Panahi is currently contending with three separate legal cases.
• Neither the director nor his legal team received prior notice regarding the hearing for this latest case.
• The legal team only discovered the legal proceedings after Panahi’s bank accounts were abruptly frozen.

As of Monday evening, Panahi had not been placed in custody, according to a Europe-based activist and friend who spoke with him directly following the verdict.

Moein Khazaeli, a human rights attorney with the advocacy group Dadban, noted that seizing personal property without establishing an explicit legal nexus to a proven offense could violate provisions of Iran’s own constitution.

Earlier this year, Panahi warned in an interview that state repression risked perpetuating ongoing unrest, noting that when cycles of state violence persist, halting them becomes exceedingly difficult.

Outcry Across the Creative and Human Rights Communities

The ruling has sparked condemnation from filmmakers, performers, and advocacy organizations highlighting escalating state pressure on independent creators:

• Setareh Maleki: The actor, who fled into exile following her performance in Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, observed that authoritarian governance fundamentally fears uncontrolled narratives, describing the ruling as evidence of how deeply authorities fear authentic storytelling.
• Nazanin Boniadi: The Iranian-British actor condemned the ruling, stating that Panahi has spent decades converting state censorship into creative resistance, characterizing the severe penalty as an effort to suppress an artist documenting real-world repression.
• Underground Filmmakers: A director working covertly inside the country expressed solidarity, linking the verdict to Panahi’s public calls for broader solidarity during earlier demonstrations and his openness to diverse political viewpoints across Iranian society.
• Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI): The organization warned in a recent analysis that Iranian authorities have heightened measures against writers, musicians, and filmmakers, systematically funneling peaceful cultural figures into national security tribunals designed to stifle dissent.