Soheil Arabi

Arrest and trial

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) agents arrested Arabi at his home in Tehran in November 2013. He then spent two months in the IRGC's Ward 2-A in Evin Prison. During interrogation, he was pressured into confessing his alleged crimes. He was then transferred to Section 350 of Evin, which is under control of the Iranian judiciary. On 30 August 2014, a five-judge panel of Branch 76 of the Criminal Court of Tehran sentenced Arabi to death for "insulting the Prophet of Islam" in eight Facebook accounts allegedly belonging to Arabi.

On 4 September 2014, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court also sentenced Arabi to three years in prison on charges of "insulting the Supreme Leader" and "propaganda against the state" in his postings on Facebook.

In late September 2015, his sentence was commuted to "reading 13 religious books and studying theology for two years".

Reactions

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for Iran's judiciary to vacate Arabi's death sentence. HRW's deputy Middle East and North Africa director said, "It is simply shocking that anyone should face the gallows simply because of Internet postings that are deemed to be crude, offensive, or insulting. Iran should urgently revise its penal code to eliminate provisions that criminalize peaceful free expression, especially when they punish its exercise with death."

Amnesty International has also called on its supporters to urge the Iranian authorities not to execute Arabi and release him "if he is being held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression."