The groom of the Cannes Film Festival and Iran's most famous director, Jaffer Panaghi, was sentenced to five years in prison, the lawyer said in March 2026. Panaghi returned to Iran without knowing about the new case. According to his lawyer, the manager was not notified of the hearing and was not invited to court. They learned of the verdict after Fahaha's bank accounts were frozen. The Revolutionary Court in Tehran also ordered the director's property to be confiscated and prohibited him from using social media or leaving the country for two years. The charges against this verdict have not yet been revealed. According to the lawyer, court documents indicate that her face is abroad. There are currently three other cases against Pangai. In 2022 he was sent to serve a six-year sentence in 2010 for "propaganda against the system". The director spent almost seven months in prison and was released in February 2023 after a hunger strike. In December 2025, he was impatiently sentenced to another year in prison for "propaganda against the establishment". In 2025, his film "A Simple Accident" received the "Palm d'Or" of the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2026 he was nominated for an Oscar in the "Best International Film" category. Photo: Sylvin Lipper / Getty Images.

The groom of the Cannes Film Festival and Iran's most famous director, Jaffer Panaghi, was sentenced to five years in prison, the lawyer said in March 2026. Panaghi returned to Iran without knowing about the new case. According to his lawyer, the manager was not notified of the hearing and was not invited to court. They learned of the verdict after Fahaha's bank accounts were frozen. The Revolutionary Court in Tehran also ordered the director's property to be confiscated and prohibited him from using social media or leaving the country for two years. The charges against this verdict have not yet been revealed. According to the lawyer, court documents indicate that her face is abroad. There are currently three other cases against Pangai. In 2022 he was sent to serve a six-year sentence in 2010 for "propaganda against the system". The director spent almost seven months in prison and was released in February 2023 after a hunger strike. In December 2025, he was impatiently sentenced to another year in prison for "propaganda against the establishment". In 2025, his film "A Simple Accident" received the "Palm d'Or" of the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2026 he was nominated for an Oscar in the "Best International Film" category. Photo: Sylvin Lipper / Getty Images.