Jafar Panahi Sentenced to Five Years and One Month in Absentia

An Iranian court has sentenced filmmaker Jafar Panahi to five years and one month in prison. The ruling, issued on Tuesday, also mandates the confiscation of all his assets. His lawyer, Mostafa Nili, confirmed the details to the Emtedad news outlet.

The sentence was handed down in absentia. Panahi, 66, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year for the film It Was Just an Accident. Nili stated that the court additionally imposed a two-year travel ban and a two-year prohibition on the director's use of social media.

The specific charges behind the new sentence are not yet public. Nili said Panahi currently faces three open legal cases. The lawyer learned of the latest proceedings only after his client's bank accounts were frozen last week. Panahi was not notified of the hearing date.

Panahi returned to Iran in March after a trip to promote his film. He had previously been sentenced to one year in prison for propaganda activities against the system. A friend of the director told the Associated Press that Panahi was not detained immediately following the new ruling.

Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer at the Dadban legal counseling center, argued that the asset seizure could violate the Iranian constitution. He noted that a breach would occur unless authorities provide a clear legal basis linking the property to the alleged offense.

The ruling has drawn reaction from other figures in the Iranian film industry. Nazanin Boniadi, an Iranian-British actor, described the decision as another attempt to silence a courageous artist. Setareh Maleki, who is in exile, said the sentence demonstrates the government's fear of storytelling.

An unnamed filmmaker currently shooting in Iran suggested the sentence is linked to Panahi's support for unity during the January protests. She noted his backing for diverse voices, including those supporting Reza Pahlavi. A report from the Center for Human Rights in Iran indicates that authorities are expanding their legal pressure on cultural figures.