Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year travel ban in absentia, his lawyer Mustafa Nili announced on X on Monday.

The lawyer said that Branch 26 of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court had also banned the director from membership of political and social groups due to “propaganda activities against the system.”

Panahi is currently on the awards season trail with his Cannes Palme d’Or-winning drama It Was Just An Accident , which is France’s entry to the 2026 Oscars, and is not believed to be in Iran at this time.

Currently a resident of France, under its talent visa scheme, Panahi has been on the road ever since his film was selected as France’s Oscar entry in September and is due to touch down at the Marrakech Film Festival to

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