Oscar-nominated director Jafar Panahi (It Was Just An Accident) is facing another prison sentence and a travel ban after an Iranian court upheld its verdict finding him guilty of “propaganda against the regime.”
The court upheld an earlier ruling, made in-absentia when Panahi was traveling outside Iran to support the awards campaign of It Was Just an Accident, sentencing the director to a year in prison and a two-year travel ban. Panahi is also prohibted from joining political and social groups and associations.
Panahi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, announced on Sunday that the Tehran Revolutionary Court has rejected his objections to the rule and has upheld the verdict in full. In an interview with Iranian media outlet Emtedad, Nili said Panahi had been found guilty of making an “underground and problematic film against the establishment,” of supporting political and security prisoners, of backing popular protests against the government, supporting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” slogan, of signing and disseminating a statement in support of a truck drivers’ strike, of “painting a bleak picture” of the current state of the country, and of reposting a video clip of a protest.
Panahi’s lawyer said he has 20 days to appeal the ruling.
