Amin Dehestani, a Khorramabad blogger, arrested to serve a two-year prison sentence

Amin Dehestani, a blogger living in Khorramabad, was arrested by security forces at his workplace on the evening of Sunday 18 October 2026 and taken to prison to serve a two-year sentence. The blogger, about 46 and the father of one child, has more than 233,000 followers on social media and on his page criticised the state of public services and the problems of citizens.

According to the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA), the Islamic Republic's judiciary had sentenced him to two years in prison on charges of "propaganda against the system" and "insult and defamation". The prison to which he was transferred has not been named.

Background to Amin Dehestani's arrest

Amin Dehestani was first arrested on 3 September 2025 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization at the addiction treatment camp where he worked, and for a time was interrogated in the IRGC intelligence detention centre in Khorramabad. His case has now, more than a year later, ended in imprisonment, solely because on his page he had recounted what many people in Lorestan face every day.

Crackdown on social media users

The imprisonment of this blogger is part of a wider wave of repression of freedom of expression online. In recent days citizens have reported receiving threatening text messages from the police intelligence service (FARAJA) over their online activity, and the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Science has cut ties with Farzad Kolbali, a University of Tehran lecturer, over his social media posts. The charge of "propaganda against the system" is one of the most common labels the revolutionary courts use to imprison critics, journalists and social media users.

Amin Dehestani was sent to prison for two years for criticising public services and people's problems on social media.