Tehran’s Revolutionary Court has upheld a one-year prison sentence against Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi. This decision came after the court rejected the director’s appeal against a sentence he received in absentia in December, which charged him with engaging in propaganda activities against the Iranian state. Panahi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, announced the court's decision, noting that the sentence can still be appealed to the Tehran Provincial Court of Appeal within twenty days, meaning immediate incarceration is not required.

Panahi had returned to Iran at the end of March, shortly after the 98th Academy Awards ceremony where his latest film, “It Was Just An Accident,” was nominated as France’s candidate in the Best International Feature Film Category. Over the past two decades, the esteemed auteur has frequently encountered issues with Iranian authorities. In 2010, Panahi, renowned for works such as “The Circle,” “Offside,” “This is Not a Film,” “Taxi,” and “No Bears,” was banned from making movies, speaking to the press, and traveling, although he continued to make films surreptitiously.

His legal troubles continued in 2022 when he was arrested in connection with protests by a group of filmmakers, leading to his release approximately seven months later. The ban imposed on him was lifted in April 2023, which allowed Panahi to travel to Cannes to debut “It Was Just an Accident.” Following its premiere, Panahi traveled extensively to promote the drama, a film that centers on the powerful emotions expressed by a group of former prisoners towards a torturous guard, drawing inspiration from his own experiences of incarceration.