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Iran Court Upholds One-Year Sentence and Travel Ban for Jafar Panahi

Reinforcing state pressure on the Palme d’Or-winning director, the ruling leaves an appeals window that delays his jail term.

Overview

  • Tehran’s Revolutionary Court rejected Panahi’s objections and on Sunday upheld the December in‑absentia verdict that sentenced him to one year in prison.
  • The court also confirmed a two-year ban on leaving the country and a prohibition on membership in political and social groups.
  • Panahi was convicted on charges of 'propaganda against the regime' tied to making an 'underground and problematic film' and to alleged support for political prisoners and protest slogans.
  • His lawyer Mostafa Nili said Panahi has 20 days to appeal to the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal, so the sentence will not be enforced immediately while that process runs.
  • The ruling continues a decades-long pattern of legal action against Panahi even as his secret-made film It Was Just An Accident won Cannes’ Palme d’Or and raised his international profile through Oscar attention.