Mounting Pressure on Cultural Activists in Nahavand
On Monday, May 26, 2025, Fereshteh Souri and her husband Ali Jahanian—both poets and civil society activists from Nahavand—were arrested after being summoned by phone to the city’s Intelligence Office. According to informed sources, at the time of their arrest, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Nahavand also opened a new case against them.
Fereshteh Souri, known for her cultural and civil activism, had previously been sentenced to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime.” This sentence was upheld on May 5, 2025, by Branch 11 of the Court of Appeals in Hamadan Province, without any in-person hearing to review her appeal. The charges stemmed from her posts on social media, particularly Instagram stories in support of families of those killed in protests and her reposting of protest poems, including those by her husband.
In an earlier case, Souri had been acquitted of “forming a group with the intent to disrupt national security,” but her cultural activity online was nevertheless deemed threatening by intelligence authorities. Human rights observers view such actions as clear evidence of an ongoing crackdown on free expression and the suppression of independent cultural activity in Iran.
This is not the first time the couple has faced state harassment. In September 2024, security forces raided their home and detained both of them. Although Souri was released on bail, she was re-arrested just two days later and transferred to Malayer Prison. After nearly two months in temporary detention, the couple was released on November 11, 2024.
Sources close to the family report that Souri was physically assaulted during interrogations and suffers from multiple physical and psychological health issues, including severe depression. Despite her poor health, judicial authorities not only upheld her prison sentence but have also increased pressure on her by initiating a new case.
