Iran has sentenced Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a travel ban over "propaganda activities" against the country, his lawyer told AFP on Monday.

The sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership in any political or social groups, lawyer Mostafa Nili told AFP, adding that they would file an appeal.

Nili said the charges against Panahi were engaging in "propaganda activities" against the state but did not elaborate. "Mr. Panahi is outside Iran right now," he added.

Panahi, 65, won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize this year for "It Was Just an Accident", a film in which five ex-inmates contemplate whether to exact revenge on a man they believe to be their former jailer.

Last month, he was on a tour of

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