Iran sentences acclaimed film director Jafar Panahi to new prison term after his return home

Iran’s Branch 26 Revolutionary Court has sentenced Oscar-nominated director Jafar Panahi to five years and one month in prison in absentia, according to Tehran-based independent film journalist Mansour Jahani.

The court also ordered the confiscation of all of Panahi’s movable and immovable assets and imposed a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on social media activity. Jahani told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday that Panahi, who is in Iran, had not yet been imprisoned following the new ruling.

The latest judgment comes amid continuing uncertainty over Panahi’s legal proceedings. Branch 26 had previously ordered a retrial after he was sentenced in absentia to one year in prison and banned from filmmaking for two years.

At the time, Panahi was outside Iran promoting It Was Just an Accident, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar for best international feature, representing France.

Jahani said Panahi’s