Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi gets one-year prison sentence confirmed

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has had his one-year prison sentence confirmed by Iran's Revolutionary Court. The sentence also includes a two-year ban on leaving the country. Panahi was found guilty of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

According to the filmmaker's lawyer, Mostafa Nili, the charges stem from Panahi's creation of controversial, clandestine films critical of the Iranian government. He also supported the "woman, life, freedom" protests that erupted in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Panahi's actions included publishing a video against the death penalty and signing statements supporting political prisoners.

The sentence can still be appealed. This new trial follows Panahi's return to Iran on March 30 and his lawyers' appeal against an earlier sentence. That initial penalty, imposed in December while he was abroad, included one year in prison and a two-year ban on filmmaking.

Panahi, a director, screenwriter, and human rights activist, had previously been banned from traveling abroad for 15 years and spent seven months in prison. He won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2025 for his film "It was just an accident," which tells the story of former political prisoners trying to identify their torturer solely by voice while juggling everyday tasks.

“

According to the sentence, Panahi was declared guilty of propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran and sentenced to one year in prison.