Jafar Panahi
Age: 66
Activism/rights: Filmmaker; civil society activist; abolition of the death penalty
Status: Released on bail
Judicial status: Sentenced to a total of 6 years and 1 month in prison in two separate cases: a one-year sentence upheld after the rejection of his objection, and a new in absentia sentence of 5 years and 1 month; finality of the verdicts unconfirmed; confiscation of property and additional restrictions
Violations: Freedom of expression and artistic activity; freedom of civil society activism; right to property; freedom of movement; denial of fair trial and due process
Jafar Panahi is one of the most internationally renowned Iranian filmmakers and the recipient of prestigious cinematic awards from Venice, Berlin and Cannes. He is also an anti-death penalty activist and one of the principal members of the LEGAM campaign (Step by Step Abolition of the Death Penalty), and has faced bans, arrests and imprisonment over recent decades. In December 2010, he was sentenced on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the regime” to 6 years’ imprisonment and a 20-year ban on filmmaking, screenwriting, travelling abroad and giving interviews to the media and press.
In July 2022, while visiting the prosecutor’s office at Evin Prison to follow up on the cases of his detained colleagues Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, he was arrested and his six-year prison sentence was enforced.
Despite the Supreme Court granting an appeal and bail being securred, authorities refused to release Jafar. In protest, he went on hunger strike and was ultimately released on bail on 5 February 2023. One month later, Branch 9 of the Supreme Court overturned his prison sentence and referred the case to Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeal.
In May 2023, after 14 years under a travel ban, Jafar left the country. His passport had been confiscated in 2009 when he intended to travel to Paris, and he was later officially banned from leaving the country by judicial order in 2010.
Jafar was sentenced in absentia to imprisonment, a two-year travel ban and a two-year ban on membership in political and social groups and organisations. At the time the verdict was issued, Jafar, who was outside the country, stated that he had no intention of seeking asylum and returned to Iran on 30 March 2026. On appeal, the Supreme Court overturned Jafar's sentence and his case was sent to a court of equal standing for retrial. Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, was scheduled to hear the case. On June 7, 2026, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court upheld Panahi’s one-year prison sentence on the charge of “propaganda against the state” after rejecting his objection to the judgment. On October 27, 2026, his lawyer, Mostafa Nili, announced a new in absentia verdict imposing five years and one month in prison, confiscation of all movable and immovable property, a two-year travel ban, and a two-year ban on social media activity. The verdict was issued without notifying Panahi of the hearing date. He learned of it after his bank accounts were frozen. According to his lawyer, three judicial cases remain open against him.Jafar Panahi is currently released on bail.