Birjand student and internet freedom activist Erfan Arabi sentenced to eight years in prison

Hengaw – Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Erfan Arabi, a 20-year-old student from Birjand in South Khorasan province and an internet freedom activist, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to eight years in prison. He had previously been arrested during the January 2026 protests and released after three months in detention.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Arabi was recently sentenced by the Revolutionary Court of Birjand to a total of eight years in prison. Under Iran’s sentencing aggregation rules, the harshest sentence, five years of discretionary imprisonment, will be enforceable.

The charges against him were reported as “assembly and collusion with intent to disrupt national security” and “propaganda against the state.”

Reports indicate that court authorities refused to provide either Arabi or his lawyer with a written copy of the verdict and instead only read the ruling aloud.

Erfan Arabi is a member of the development team of the open-source operating system “Parch Linux.” He was arrested in February 2026 after being summoned to the Intelligence Office in Birjand, where his electronic devices were also confiscated.

After nearly three months in detention, he was released on bail in late April 2026 pending the completion of judicial proceedings.