Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to five years and one month in prison by a Tehran Revolutionary Court in a separate verdict, according to his lawyer.
The filmmaker, who was previously sentenced to one year in prison, has also been barred from travelling abroad and using social media for two years. The court has ordered the seizure of his assets.
Panahi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, told Emtedad News Agency that the latest verdict was issued in the filmmaker’s absence. Nili said Panahi’s bank accounts were unexpectedly frozen last week, prompting the legal team to contact Tehran’s prosecutor’s office, where they learned of the ruling.
The enforcement of both prison sentences remains at the discretion of the Iranian authorities.
Panahi has a long history of clashes with Iranian authorities. In 2010, he was banned from making films, speaking to the media and travelling abroad. Despite the restrictions, he continued making films in secret.
Known for films including The Circle, Offside, This Is Not a Film, Taxi and No Bears, Panahi was arrested in 2022 in connection with protests involving a group of filmmakers. He was released about seven months later.
Restrictions preventing him from making films and travelling abroad were lifted in April 2023, allowing him to attend the Cannes Film Festival and present his film It Was Just an Accident. He later travelled to several countries to promote the drama, which follows a group of former prisoners as they confront their feelings towards a guard who tortured them.
Despite his existing one-year prison sentence and rising tensions in Iran, Panahi chose to return home after completing his international promotional tour, according to Variety.
