Iran sentences award-winning director to prison ahead of Cannes

The award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings just ahead of his planned trip to the Cannes film festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press Thursday.

Rasoulof, 51, known for his film "There Is No Evil," has become the latest artist targeted in a widening crackdown on all dissent in the Islamic Republic following years of mass protests, including over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.

Iranian authorities haven't acknowledged...