An Iranian court will this week hear a case against director Jafar Panahi, who won top prize at last year’s Cannes film festival, after he returned to Iran during the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic, Iranian media said Monday.
The case will go before a Tehran Revolutionary Court on Wednesday, the ISNA news agency reported. It added that the director, who, as well as winning the Cannes Palme d’Or, was nominated for an Oscar for his film “It Was Just an Accident”, had returned to Iran on 30 March.
This was the first confirmation by media inside Iran that the director, who had expressed outrage over the crackdown on anti-government protests in January and attended the Oscars in mid-March, had returned to the country.
ISNA said the hearing was being held after Panahi’s lawyers appealed against a sentence – one year in prison and a two-year travel ban – he was handed in absentia in December on charges of “propaganda” against Iran’s clerical system.
The new hearing will be held under judge Iman Afshari, it said. Afshari is notorious for stiff sentences against dissidents and has been sanctioned by the European Union.
It will also take place with this year’s edition of France’s film showcase the Cannes festival in full swing.
The reports did not make clear if Panahi was expected to appear in court. He has not posted on his widely-followed Instagram account since February.
‘It is my home’
Panahi, who has endured previous spells in prison, returned to Iran after his Cannes triumph in 2025 but then stayed out of the country while promoting the film amid January protests.
“It Was Just an Accident” is a politically charged film, showing five Iranians confronting a man they believe tortured them in prison, a story inspired by Panahi’s own time in detention.
During his globe-trotting tour to promote the film, Panahi had repeatedly vowed to return to Iran despite the potential legal repercussions and the risk of being summoned to serve his sentence.
Rights groups say thousands of people were killed in the crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests in January, with Panahi one of the leading voices denouncing the actions of security forces.
“This shows that the regime has reached a point where it knows it has no legitimacy left. It lost legitimacy long ago, and this massacre is the final confirmation,” Panahi told AFP in an interview in February.
But he added: “It is my home and I will return to my country.”
(AFP)
