DLV – Godparenthood for Peyman Farahavar
Poet and activist: Peyman Farahavar
The poet and activist Peyman Farahavar comes from the Iranian province of Gilan on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. The Gilaki people make up approximately 5.4% of the Iranian population.
Farahavar, known by the pseudonym ‘Sheyda’, was sentenced to death by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On 6 May 2025, the Revolutionary Court in Rasht handed down the verdict on charges of Moharebeh (“war against God”) and Baghi (“armed rebellion”). He was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for “propaganda against the state”. Farahavar is currently being held in Lakan Prison in Rasht. Peyman Farahavar has spoken out only through poetry and statements against the destruction of the environment in Gilan and the political oppression of the people there on the basis of their ethnicity.
He was forcibly arrested by the Revolutionary Guards in Rasht in August 2024 and severely tortured whilst in custody. He was denied access to a lawyer both during his detention and throughout the trial. According to the human rights organisation Hengaw, the charges are based on his outspoken criticism of environmental destruction, illegal land sales and social displacement in Gilan Province – issues that Farahavar had consistently addressed in his writings and poems.
According to human rights organisations, his health is in a critical condition following months of severe abuse. He suffers from acute gastrointestinal disorders and has had to be hospitalised on several occasions.
Source (verified and citable): Iran Sentences Fruit Seller to Death for Poetry Critical of the IRGC
Background information on repression against artists and Peyman’s case: Iran Moves to Silence Literary Voices with Arrests, Prison and Death Sentences - Center for Human Rights in Iran.
PEN Berlin, PEN Deutschland and HÁWAR.help, organisations based in Germany, have issued public statements on the case.
Statement from PEN Berlin: PEN Berlin expressed its deep shock at the death sentence handed down to Peyman Farahavar, which was announced on 6 May 2025 following a summary trial at Lakan Prison in Rasht. The poet is accused of “armed rebellion” and “waging war against God”. In his poems, Farahavar criticises environmental destruction, corruption and the displacement of local farmers in Gilan Province. PEN Berlin spokesperson Deniz Yücel described the verdict as an expression of a “system of organised barbarism” and called on the German government to use diplomatic channels to secure the overturning of the verdict and Farahavar’s release.
Statement from PEN Germany: PEN Germany protests in the strongest possible terms against the death sentence handed down to the Iranian poet, journalist and environmental activist Peyman Farahavar, known by the pseudonym ‘Sheyda’. Farahavar was sentenced to death on 6 May 2025 for alleged “waging war against God” (“Moharebeh”), “armed rebellion” (“Baghi”) and “propaganda against the government”. The charges are based solely on his literary and socially critical work, in which he speaks out in particular against environmental destruction and structural injustices in the province of Gilan.
In the case of the Iranian poet Peyman Farahavar, known by the pseudonym Sheyda, several German media outlets have covered his death sentence extensively.
German media coverage
Die Tageszeitung (taz): On 9 May 2025, the taz reported on the death sentence against Farahavar, which was handed down in a summary trial at Lakan Prison in Rasht. In his poems, the poet had criticised environmental destruction and social injustice, in particular the deforestation of forests and the displacement of local farmers in Gilan Province. The taz highlighted that Farahavar was severely tortured following his arrest in September 2024 and was denied legal representation both in detention and during the trial. FAZ.NET+3taz.de+3penberlin.de+3FOCUS Online+3penberlin.de+3taz.de+3
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ): On 8 May 2025, the FAZ reported on the death sentence handed down to Farahavar and emphasised that the verdict had been delivered by a Revolutionary Court on charges of “armed rebellion” and “waging war against God”. The newspaper quoted the human rights organisation Hengaw, which stated that Farahavar had been severely tortured during his detention and that his health was in a critical condition. FAZ.NETtaz.de+2penberlin.de+2FAZ.NET+2
Deutschlandfunk Kultur: In a report on 7 May 2025, Deutschlandfunk Kultur addressed the dangers faced by poets in Iran and highlighted the case of Farahavar as an example of the repression of critical voices. The broadcaster emphasised the importance of international attention and solidarity for persecuted artists. Deutschlandfunk Kultur
Two poems
Two poems by Farahavar that powerfully reflect his rejection of violence and fanaticism.
untitled
dedicated to Sharifeh Mohammadi, who was sentenced to death for her commitment to the labour movement and is currently imprisoned in Lakan Prison.
A bit of a poet, utterly in love, I am a holy fool,
In this heartless world, deeply wounded by all friendships, I am.
Your tangled locks plunged me into the madness of love and death,
I am bound to every free tree, blood-related in balance.
Freed from the earthly, what tyranny should I fear?
To the throne, the carpet, all worldly things I say: “No!”
Now here, now there – what is space, what is place? “In one place – or even closer,
A flying Simurgh, then – a pebble on the desert plain.
What do you think I am, less than this? I am a cursed eagle in flight,
The world lies at my feet – cursed by the judgement “Bagahi” (Armed Resistance)
My throat – at midday, in August – the streets of Gilan,
The poor philosopher, I fight only with longing and reason.
O world! O world! Struck by the Evil One’s sword,
The Friday donkey has betrayed it: I am deceived, dishonoured.
I come from the green forest folk – a rebellion blazed within me,
The flames in the night, my firefight, my red territory.
Rise up, O Proud One in the night, as freedom dies on the gallows,
My curse, my turmoil surges – against every fate of state.
I speak only in fire, ‘forbidden’ is my call, my sound,
The movement lives, the forest my home, my Damun clinks in the urge.
With your red blood, O Peyman, I wrote word for word,
A thousand Layla’s tears – a fortress of madness in the clouds.
Love, sorrow, loyalty despite betrayal – that is my song,
A thousand tragedies, verses full of grief, a spell that envelops you.
You came, my thirst on the brink of death – no water, only your mouth,
A kiss from you, so beautiful, heals my lips once more.
Enclose that red mouth in the grave, O earth, be not cruel –
You do not know, my love, how this parting ruins me...
Freedom
Freedom –
perhaps it is the blood,
that drips
from the body and the bloody wings
of birds in flight.
Damn the rifle.
Damn the shot.
Damn the religious edict.