Iran | Iranian Publisher Charged With Offense That Carries Death Penalty

An Iranian cultural activist has been formally charged with “armed rebellion,” an offense that can carry the death penalty, according to a human rights organization.

Ehsan Rostami appeared on December 10 at Branch Five of the Tehran Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, where he was charged on suspicion of membership in groups opposed to the government, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.

Rostami was immediately transferred to solitary confinement at Evin Prison following the charging session.

The cultural activist, who works in publishing and books, was arrested on August 19 at his home in Tehran by security forces and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention center known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

IranWire reported in November that Rostami’s father, Jahangir Rostami, a retired teacher and labor activist from Harsin in Kermanshah province, was arrested and transferred to Evin Prison.

The elder Rostami was subjected to physical pressure and violence to force his son to make coerced confessions.

The charge of “armed rebellion” is among the most serious in Iran’s legal system and has been used against political dissidents, protesters, and those accused of taking up arms against the state.

Human rights organizations have documented Iran’s use of vague security charges and coerced confessions to prosecute activists and critics of the government.

Source: Iran Wire, Staff, December 15, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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