Jafar Panahi faces prison term after Iranian court upholds verdict

Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to one year in prison and banned from travelling abroad for two years after a court in Tehran upheld a verdict finding him guilty of ‘propaganda against the regime’.

Panahi’s lawyer, Mostafa Nili, confirmed that the Tehran Revolutionary Court rejected objections to the ruling and upheld the sentence in full. The filmmaker has 20 days to appeal the decision.

The charges are linked to several activities, including making a film critical of the Iranian establishment, expressing support for political prisoners, backing anti-government protests, supporting the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement, and sharing protest-related content on social media.