Soheil Arabi, a blogger, photographer, and human rights activist, left his place of exile in the city of Borazjan, Bushehr province, upon the completion of his sentence. Mr. Arabi endured 9 months of imprisonment and exile beyond the issued sentence in this case.
On Monday, October 7, 2024 (Mehr 16, 1403), Soheil Arabi announced in a post on his Instagram page that he had left Borazjan following the completion of his sentence. He departed from his place of exile after having served 9 months more than the issued sentence.
Soheil Arabi was released from Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj in November 2021 after serving nearly eight years. Following his release from prison, officials from the execution of judgments branch promised Soheil Arabi that the eight months of imprisonment imposed on him beyond the issued sentence would be deducted from his two-year exile. However, this promise was not fulfilled by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic.
After being released from prison, Soheil Arabi was initially sent to Borazjan in Bushehr province to serve the two-year exile sentence against him. However, about two months later, he was summoned to Tehran, and his exile was postponed. With the onset of the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022, Soheil Arabi was arrested again and spent until Esfand 2023 in prison. In May 2023, despite suffering from right eye inflammation, high blood pressure, and the effects of psychological and physical torture experienced during his imprisonment, the criminal enforcement branch summoned Soheil Arabi to serve his exile in Borazjan once again.
Despite the ongoing exile in Borazjan and the security and judicial pressures exerted on Soheil Arabi, he remained one of the most active human rights reporters in Iran during his exile. His social media channels—particularly his Instagram page and Telegram channel—were updated daily with news about prisoners and instances of violations of the rights of Iranian citizens.