LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE SITUATION OF SOHEIL ARABI; AN ANARCHIST POLITICAL PRISONER

Latest news about the situation of Soheil Arabi; An anarchist political prisoner:

Unfortunately, contrary to what was previously thought, our comrade Soheil Arabi is still held prisoner by the fascist regime of the Islamic Republic. And now, despite being in exile in Borazjan* in southwestern Iran, the authoritarian regime in Iran is pursuing another case to prosecute Comrade Soheil again.

Soheil Arabi is currently sentenced to two years in exile in Borazjan in southwestern Iran on charges of propaganda against the regime by exposing the situation in the Greater Tehran prison. This sentence is final and is being carried out. He was also sentenced to four years in prison. Two years is for agitating the public opinion and working against the regime by issuing statements in regards to protesting and seeking justice for the November 2019 bloody massacre, and another open case to two more years in prison charged with insulting Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran. Imagine two years in jail just because when Soheil Arabi’s cellmate was thrown into solitary confinement for criticizing Khamenei, he with other prisoners shouted: Death to the oppressor!

Soheil Arabi’s previous convictions ended on May 23, 2021. Eight hundred ninety-nine days were for the 2013 case and five years in prison for the cases that were opened due to criticism of corruption and crime in prison. While the sentence of Soheil Arabi ended six months ago, he was not released. With pressure from many sides and after a six-month delay, he was exiled from Gohar Dasht Prison in Karaj to Borazjan on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.

The process of this brutal exile is said to have taken place as follows:
Three million tomans (about $710) for a plane ticket were taken from Soheil Arabi’s relatives. However, he and two other prisoners were transferred there in a car with a high and dozy driver who repeatedly crossed lanes of the opposite traffic and was about to hit the oncoming cars. This was while the money of this transfer was extorted from all three prisoners by a swindler officer named Sarvan Ramezani!! All this happened while Soheil Arabi was not allowed to receive medical treatment, prepare for exile, and collect his personal belongings.

Imagine spending almost ten years in the prisons of one of the most gruesome governments in the world and suffering from various diseases as a result, then transferring him from one cage to another, then robbing him of his last penny. He is a stranger in Borazjan, without money, clothes, and a phone, with ten years in prison behind his back and four years in prison ahead, with open cases that have no end in sight. All because he fought for freedom, equality, and justice and still fights for his rights in all circumstances.

As long as a human being is in prison, no one is free!

The Federation of Anarchism Era

*) Borazjan is a city in the Bushehr Province, southwest of Iran. About 1000 kilometers from Tehran where Soheil family lives.