An Iranian court has handed the award-winning film director Jafar Panahi a new prison sentence of five years and one month, ordered the seizure of all his assets, and imposed a two-year travel ban and a two-year social media ban, his lawyer has said.
Jafar Panahi, 66, who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year for It Was Just an Accident, was sentenced in absentia, his lawyer Mostafa Nili told the Iranian news outlet Emtedad. The charges against Panahi remain unclear, and Nili said his client was not notified of the hearing date, learning of the proceedings only after his bank accounts were frozen last week.
Panahi returned to Iran in March from an overseas trip to promote It Was Just an Accident, despite having been sentenced in absentia last year to a year in prison for "propaganda activities against the system". A friend of the film-maker, an activist based in Europe, told the Associated Press that he spoke with Panahi on Monday evening after the sentencing and the film-maker had not been detained. Nili said Panahi currently faces three open legal cases.
Moein Khazaeli, a human rights lawyer at Dadban, a legal counselling centre for Iranian activists, said the sentencing and the confiscation of Panahi's assets could violate Iran's constitution unless the authorities establish a clear legal basis linking the property to an alleged offence.
The case has drawn concern from artists. The Iranian actor Setareh Maleki, forced into exile after starring in Mohammad Rasoulof's Oscar-nominated film The Seed of the Sacred Fig, said: "One of the greatest fears of a dictatorship is losing control over the stories people tell. When those stories cross borders and reach the world, they become impossible to silence. Jafar Panahi has told his stories too, and his sentence proves once again just how deeply the Islamic Republic fears even the act of storytelling."
An anonymous film-maker currently shooting a film in secret inside Iran expressed support for Panahi, saying he "hasn't remained silent and instead voices demands of the Iranian people". The Iranian-British actor Nazanin Boniadi said the sentence was "yet another attempt to silence a courageous artist whose work exposes the realities of repression in Iran".
Speaking to the Guardian from the US earlier this year, Panahi warned that the current "cycle of violence" in Iran could continue, saying: "What I have been depicting in this film is when the cycle of violence continues, then it becomes very difficult to stop it. Unfortunately, because of the savagery that is being carried out by the state, the fear is that this cycle of violence will continue."
In a recent report, the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran warned that Iranian authorities are intensifying their crackdown on artists, writers, poets, musicians and other cultural figures, "pulling peaceful voices into the same coercive security and judicial apparatus used to suppress dissent across Iran".
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The sentence targets one of Iran's most celebrated film-makers and signals the risks faced by cultural figures who continue to work independently inside the country.
- Asset seizure, travel and social media bans, and an unclear legal basis could set a precedent for how the Iranian judiciary treats artists whose work reaches international audiences.
- The case comes amid warnings from the Center for Human Rights in Iran that authorities are intensifying a broader crackdown on cultural and peaceful voices.
Background
Panahi, 66, is an award-winning director whose film It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year. He was already under a sentence handed down in absentia last year of one year in prison for "propaganda activities against the system". He returned to Iran in March from an overseas trip promoting the film. His lawyer says Panahi now faces three open legal cases, and the charges behind the latest sentence remain unclear.
Key Perspectives
- Mostafa Nili, Panahi's lawyer: Says Panahi was sentenced in absentia, was not notified of the hearing date, and only learned of the proceedings after his client's bank accounts were frozen last week.
- Moein Khazaeli, human rights lawyer at Dadban: Says the sentencing and asset confiscation could violate Iran's constitution unless authorities establish a clear legal basis linking the property to an alleged offence.
- Jafar Panahi: Warned earlier this year that the "cycle of violence" in Iran could continue, saying that once it continues, "it becomes very difficult to stop it".
- Setareh Maleki, actor: Says the sentence proves "how deeply the Islamic Republic fears even the act of storytelling".
- Nazanin Boniadi, Iranian-British actor: Calls the sentence "yet another attempt to silence a courageous artist whose work exposes the realities of repression in Iran".
- Center for Human Rights in Iran: Warns authorities are "pulling peaceful voices into the same coercive security and judicial apparatus used to suppress dissent across Iran".
What to Watch
- Whether Panahi is detained, after a friend said he had not been taken into custody as of Monday evening.
- How the three open legal cases proceed, including whether Panahi is notified of hearings or can challenge the latest sentence.
- Whether the asset seizure is implemented despite constitutional concerns raised by Khazaeli.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedPanahi received a new prison sentence of five years and one month.World news | The Guardian: “An Iranian court has handed the award-winning film director Jafar Panahi a new prison sentence of five years and one month”
- SupportedThe court ordered the seizure of all Panahi’s assets.World news | The Guardian: “and ordered the seizure of all his assets.”
- SupportedThe court imposed a two-year travel ban and a two-year social media ban.World news | The Guardian: “The court also imposed a two-year travel ban and barred him from using social media for two years, Nili said.”
- SupportedPanahi was sentenced in absentia.World news | The Guardian: “was sentenced in absentia, his lawyer, Mostafa Nili, told the Iranian news outlet Emtedad.”
- SupportedThe charges against Panahi remain unclear.World news | The Guardian: “The charges against Panahi remain unclear.”
- SupportedNili said Panahi had not been notified of the hearing date and learned of the proceedings after his bank accounts were frozen the previous week.World news | The Guardian: “Nili said Panahi currently faced three open legal cases, and had not been notified of the hearing date for the latest one. He only learned of the proceedings after his client’s bank accounts were frozen last week.”
- SupportedPanahi had been sentenced in absentia the previous year to a year in prison for “propaganda activities against the system”.World news | The Guardian: “despite having been sentenced in absentia last year to a year in prison for “propaganda activities against the system”.”
- SupportedSetareh Maleki said: “One of the greatest fears of a dictatorship is losing control over the stories people tell.”World news | The Guardian: ““One of the greatest fears of a dictatorship is losing control over the stories people tell.”
- SupportedThe anonymous film-maker said Panahi “hasn’t remained silent and instead voices demands of the Iranian people”.World news | The Guardian: ““He hasn’t remained silent and instead voices demands of the Iranian people,” said the film-maker”
- SupportedNazanin Boniadi said Panahi’s sentence was “yet another attempt to silence a courageous artist whose work exposes the realities of repression in Iran”.World news | The Guardian: “His latest draconian prison sentence is yet another attempt to silence a courageous artist whose work exposes the realities of repression in Iran.”
- SupportedPanahi said the cycle of violence could continue and that it could become very difficult to stop.World news | The Guardian: ““What I have been depicting in this film is when the cycle of violence continues, then it becomes very difficult to stop it,” Panahi said.”
- SupportedThe Center for Human Rights in Iran warned that authorities were intensifying a crackdown on cultural figures, “pulling peaceful voices into the same coercive security and judicial apparatus used to suppress dissent across Iran”.World news | The Guardian: “In a recent report, the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran warned that Iranian authorities are intensifying their crackdown on artists, writers, poets, musicians and other cultural figures, “pulling peaceful voices into the same coercive security and judicial apparatus used to suppress dissent across Iran”.”