Iranian street vendor Peyman Farahavar (pictured) has been sentenced to death for his poetry.
Farahavar, 37, was convicted of “rebellion” and “waging war against God” last Tuesday by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht in northern Iran. His “crime”? His poems criticized corruption within the Revolutionary Guards, and he celebrated his cultural identity as a Gilak, a people native to the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
Iranian authorities justified the capital punishment with the claim that Farahavar was involved in arson at a construction site.
The vendor was a seminary-trained cleric, but he quit in protest against the Islamic Republic’s policies. While selling fruit alongside his brother to support himself and his 10-year-old son, he lived modestly and wrote poems about environmental issues, cultural pride, and deep-rooted corruption. He opposed the “widespread sale of Gilani farmers’ lands to non-locals” and criticized construction companies for “misuse of environmental resources of Gilan [Province]”.
A friend said:
His identity and the language of his people were important to him – especially the forgotten people, the poor, and the suffering villagers….
He valued certain things and said that [the government] have made a business out of martyrs’ blood and religion.
In short, he grew to hate this government because of their oppression of the people. He spoke very harshly and stood against them.
Farahavar was arrested on August 18, 2024 in Rasht. He spent 26 days in solitary confinement and was then transferred to the security section of Lakan Prison.
The vendor was previously detained in May 2022 and released after a month.
Friends say he has suffered in confinement, “They treated him very harshly. Psychological torture was abundant. Physical torture also happened early on.”
At one point, he lost consciousness for 24 hours. His health has deteriorated significantly, with gastrointestinal bleeding and lymphatic issues causing painful boils.
The Revolutionary Guards have destroyed many of his notebooks, which included a satirical poem about the Guards as “very harsh and very beautiful”.
Friends and a former cellmate also say Farahavar has been denied visits by his son.
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