Jafar Panahi, director of It Was Just an Accident, sentenced to five years in prison in Iran
By Fuzzy Mushroom · Published
Jafar Panahi, whose It Was Just an Accident won the Palme d'Or and an Oscar nomination, has been sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in prison by Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court. The court also ordered his assets seized and banned him from travel and social media for two years, Tehran-based film journalist Mansour Jahani told The Hollywood Reporter. Panahi went back to Iran after the Oscars and hasn't been jailed yet.
What should the film world do to stand up for Panahi?
How solid is this story?
Spore Score for the story: 77 (Solid). Status: Confirmed. Trades confirm: Reported by The Hollywood Reporter (via journalist Mansour Jahani), TheWrap and IndieWire.
The films
- It Was Just an Accident (2025): Spore Score 94, The Pros 97 vs The Punters 80
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter: Jafar Panahi Facing Five Years' Imprisonment in Iran After Being Sentenced in Absentia (27 October 2026)
- IndieWire: Jafar Panahi Faces Five-Year Prison Sentence in Iran After Releasing 'It Was Just an Accident' (27 October 2026)
- TheWrap: Jafar Panahi Faces 5-Year Prison Sentence by Iranian Court (27 October 2026)
Our own summary: we always link to the original reporting. More Spore News · How the Spore Score works