Sentenced to death for insulting Muhammad in his posts on Facebook, Soheil has since been imprisoned and has been repeatedly brutalized and denied medical attention. Government agents have also abducted his family members.
Farangis Mazloum (mother)
In November 2013, Iranian photographer, blogger, and activist Soheil Arabi was arrested in his home on charges of blasphemous posts he made on social media. He was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. After almost a year in jail, his trial was held in August 2014; he was sentenced to death.
Soheil’s death sentence was commuted in July 2015 to “only” 90 days in prison plus a mandatory two-year study of Islamic theology. However, he also had to serve a separate seven-and-a-half year sentence for insulting the Ayatollah, meaning he was not freed. Throughout his imprisonment, he has been subject to mistreatment and abuse, leading to serious injuries, for which prison authorities have often refused to provide medical treatment.
Officials have brutalized him for teaching fellow inmates French and English. On multiple occasions, he has gone on a hunger strike, but with no tangible results. Iranian security forces even arrested Soheil’s mother after she posted a video online in her son’s defense, pleading for better treatment for her son.
"Is teaching prisoners considered a crime? Does it deserve breaking his nose and kicking him in the testicles to a point that one of his testicles is crushed and he needs urgent surgery and hospitalization?" - Farangis Mazloum, Soheil's mother
In October 2018, Soheil was sentenced to another three years’ imprisonment, as well as banishment to the city of Borazjan. In his case officer’s opinion, he had not shown any signs of a change of conscience.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, Soheil faced new charges of "propaganda activities against the state" and hearings on them. However, in November 2021, he was reportedly released into exile in Borazjan.
In January 2023, it was reported that Soheil was once again arrested, "violently beaten and denied medicine in his own home."
In December 2023, the news outlet Iran International, reporting on information that Soheil had reported about another political prisoner facing execution, Ali Akbar Roz, referred to Soheil as a "former political prisoner in exile."
Death Sentence for 'Insulting the Prophet' - Amnesty International
Iranian death sentence commuted to two years' theology study - The Guardian
Farangis Mazloum, Mother of political prisoner Sohail Arabi was arrested - Iran International
Soheil Arabi - United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
FFRF, 40 groups demand release of Soheil Arabi - Freedom from Religion Foundation
Iran is a theocratic Islamic republic that derives its legal principles from Islamic religious law. As such, blasphemy and apostasy can be and are punished with death. Although there is no codified apostasy law in the penal code, this does not prevent its punishment in accordance with Islamic legal principles, and blasphemy is codified as a capital offense within the penal code. Iran has a poor track record on human rights, and if these “offenses” do not result in death, they may result in imprisonment or torture. Those who stand accused of either must also fear reprisal from non-state actors, though documented incidents of such reprisals are not as prominent as in some other countries.