Published on
07/06/2026 - 15:23 GMT+2
“Under the initial verdict, Panahi had been sentenced to one year in prison on the charge of engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mostafa Nili, the lawyer of the acclaimed and Cannes Palme d’Or winner Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, said in an interview with the Iranian media outlet 'Emtedad'.
Nili added that he was also handed a two-year travel ban and prohibited from joining political and social groups and associations. With this, the Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, has upheld the original verdict in full.
He explained that the grounds cited for the verdict included making an “underground and problematic film against the establishment,” supporting political and security prisoners, backing popular protests against the government, supporting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” slogan, signing and disseminating a statement in support of a lorry drivers’ strike, “painting a bleak picture” of the country’s situation, and reposting a video clip of a collective performance of the anthem “Ey Iran” in protest at the issuing and carrying out of death sentences.
