Dissident Spotlight: Armin Shadivand
Armin Shadivand was arrested for spreading "propaganda" online and for "insulting the Supreme Leader," two ridiculous charges that show how afraid Iran's leader is of his people.
Armin Shadivand was a musician and environmental activist in Iran. Before his arrest, he was active on social media, with posts on X and Instagram. For example, his last post on X from July 9, 2024 criticized the Iranian regime for its approach to online censorship. The Google Translate from Farsi to English reads:
I don't know what the plural of the word "idiot" is
But you idiots, you considered removing filtering an option.
Our problem is not filtering, because we have filter breakers.
Our problem is the complete shutdown of the internet for women protesters.
Shadivand was also involved in the preservation of Darreh Shahr, a historical site in Iran. So, it’s less surprising to see that an Instagram account called savedarrehshahr posted the court order upholding Shadivand’s two-year prison sentence for “propaganda” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”
In that post from February 2025, savedarrehshahr quoted 14th-century Persian poet Hafiz, who is illegal to openly celebrate under the Islamic regime:
“My master is like a candle, afraid of my fire.”
Defiance to the End
There have been no reports that Shadivand has died in prison. However, a two-year prison sentence in Iran could change that.
Shadivand was sentenced for his Instagram posts, though so many of those posts appear to have been deleted that it’s unclear which specific insults led to his arrest.
What is clear is that Shadivand is the victim of a leader with thin skin rather than a victim of his own words. Dictators fear their people, because they can’t be easily controlled. It takes great effort and much organizing to force a country’s population to bend to every whim of its leader.
Shadivand is one of many victims of Iran’s Islamic fundamentalist regime. Hopefully one day, he’ll be able to sing his songs and quote Hafiz himself in public again.