Jafar Panahi sentence: Iran jails the filmmaker again, this time for five years

The Jafar Panahi sentence has shocked the film world. A Tehran Revolutionary Court has handed the director five years and one month in prison, The Daily Star reported on 29 October.

It is a separate verdict from an earlier one-year sentence. The court also barred him from foreign travel and social media for two years. It ordered his assets seized.

What we know about the Jafar Panahi sentence

His lawyer, Mostafa Nili, learned of the ruling at Tehran’s prosecutor’s office. That followed the freezing of Panahi’s bank accounts the week before. Nili told the Emtedad News Agency that the verdict was delivered in Panahi’s absence.

Enforcement of both prison terms is left to the authorities’ discretion. The reports we reviewed do not name the specific charges. Variety and other outlets have also covered the ruling.

A long fight with the state

Iran banned Panahi from making films, speaking to the media and travelling abroad in 2010. He kept working in secret. His works include The Circle, Offside, This Is Not a Film, Taxi and No Bears.

He was arrested in 2022 during protests involving a group of filmmakers. He was released after about seven months. His restrictions were lifted in April 2023, and he attended Cannes with It Was Just an Accident.

After his international tour, he returned to Iran despite the risks, according to Variety.

Why it matters beyond Iran

Panahi’s films look at ordinary Iranians under pressure. Jailing him for them sends a message to every artist in the country. It also shows how hard it is to make independent cinema there.

Press freedom is under strain elsewhere too. See our opinion piece on the Mada Masr closure in Egypt.

No Iranian official had commented in the reports we reviewed. We will update this report if the court or the government responds.

Fact basis: The Daily Star (29 October 2026); Variety (October 2026). Charges and the verdict date were not stated in the reports reviewed.