Soheil Arabi

Soheil Arabi

Soheil Arabi ( listen ^{? / I} ; Persian سهیل عربی, born 1985 in Tehran ) is an Iranian photographer and blogger who was sentenced to death in late 2014 for “ insulting the Prophet ” in Facebook postings.

Life

According to media reports, Arabi is said to have made critical comments on religious and political issues and the Iranian leadership on a total of eight Facebook pages.

He is married and has a five year old daughter.

Arrest and trial

In November 2013, Arabi and his wife, Nastaran Naimi, were arrested at night by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and taken to Evin Prison . His wife was allowed to leave the prison after a few hours, but he remained in solitary confinement for months in section 2A of the prison, which is directly subordinate to the Revolutionary Guards and which is used to accommodate political prisoners . According to his wife, he was tortured and subsequently confessed to having insulted the prophet Mohammed and the revolutionary leader Khamene'i on social networks. He was then taken to wing 350, which is under the control of the Iranian judiciary. During his year in Evin Prison until his trial, contact with his daughter was limited to 20 minutes a month. Communication with a lawyer was also hardly possible.

In September 2014, Arabi was charged by a revolutionary court in Tehran with “insulting the Prophet” ( sabb al-nabi ) and found guilty. This is the death penalty under Iranian law . Arabi attempted to challenge this ruling in November, citing the fact that the statement was "made under duress, negligence or in a state of intoxication," whereupon the execution of the death penalty can be waived. Without the possibility of a judicial statement by Arabis, the Supreme Court extended the sentence in its judgment to include the incontestable offense of "spreading calamity " ( mofsed-e-filarz ). The death sentence can therefore no longer be overturned through legal action.

In addition, in September 2014 Arabi was convicted of three years imprisonment for "insulting the Supreme Leader" and "propaganda against the state".

In late June 2015, the Supreme Revolutionary Court overturned the death penalty. The human rights commissioner of the German federal government, Christoph Strässer , welcomed this as “a first step in the right direction”, but at the same time pointed out that Arabi as well as numerous other journalists and bloggers remain imprisoned.

International reactions

Human rights group Human Rights Watch called for the lifting of the death sentence and freedom of expression in Iran. It is "simply shocking" that someone should be executed for a few allegedly offensive Internet postings. Amnesty International pressed for the death sentence to be withdrawn and for his freedom to be released only if he was held responsible for freedom of expression.

After the verdict, protests against the execution of Arabi also formed in social networks, including petitions. These also turn against the accumulation of such judgments that have occurred since Rouhani took office. In July 2014 alone, eight activists were sentenced to between eight and 21 years in prison.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Matthias Lauer: Iran: For Facebook posts on death row. (No longer available online.) In: publikative.org. January 26, 2015, archived from the original on March 16, 2015 ; accessed on March 17, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Iran: Death Sentence for 'Insulting The Prophet' . Amnesty International. November 26, 2014.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Death Sentence for 'Insulting the Prophet' on Facebook . International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 16th September 2014.
4. ↑ Frank Nicolai : Death sentence against Soheil Arabi canceled! . hpd , June 29, 2015, accessed July 3, 2015.
5. ↑ Iran: Death Sentence for Facebook Posts . Human Rights Watch. 2nd December 2014.