Amin Dehestani Arrested to Serve Two-Year Prison Sentence

Amin Dehestani, a Lur blogger residing in Khorramabad with over 233,000 followers on Instagram, has been arrested to serve a two-year prison sentence and has been transferred to Khorramabad Central Prison. Human rights reports indicate that his conviction was issued following the publication of critical posts about provincial officials, water and electricity cuts, and the state of public services.

Amin Dehestani, a 46-year-old citizen and father of one child, was arrested on Sunday evening, October 26, 2026, at his workplace in Khorramabad. According to human rights organizations’ reports, following his arrest, he was transferred to Khorramabad Central Prison to serve his two-year sentence.

Hana has also reported that Dehestani had previously been sentenced by Iran’s Islamic Republic judiciary to two years imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the state” and “libel and slander.” According to information published by this organization, his posts on social media networks included criticism of local officials, problems related to water and electricity cuts, and what was described as mismanagement in the provision of public services.

This is not Dehestani’s first arrest. Hrana, the news agency of Iranian human rights activists, had reported that he was arrested on September 3, 2025, at his workplace—a drug rehabilitation center in Khorramabad—by officers of the IRGC Intelligence Organization and transferred to the agency’s detention facility. At that time, Hrana stated that there was no clear information about the charges brought against him.

Recent reports indicate that following his previous arrest and after interrogation and legal proceedings, Dehestani was temporarily released; however, he has now been arrested to serve his prison sentence.

Dehestani’s case once again draws attention to the situation of individuals who use social media networks to voice criticism of officials’ performance and everyday citizens’ problems. In this case, human rights media outlets have documented a connection between the critical content published by him and the process that led to his conviction and transfer to prison.

However, in the sources reviewed, the full text of the court ruling, details of the court’s reasoning, and Dehestani’s legal defense have not been published; therefore, an independent assessment of all aspects of the case based on available public information is not possible. Furthermore, at the time of this report’s preparation, no independent statement from judicial authorities regarding the published accounts was available.

Freedom of expression and the ability to criticize officials’ performance are important human rights issues. Cases of this nature raise questions about the boundary between public criticism and criminal charges, as well as the proportionality of the punishment imposed to the activities cited.