Because of the draconian nature of his sentence for non-violent labor activism, Pegahan has become a central figure in international campaigns against Iran’s human rights record. Organizations like Amnesty International have adopted him as a prisoner of conscience, arguing that he has used no violence and that his only “crime” is advocating for the rights of workers.
In Iran, labor unions are either state-controlled through the Islamic Labour Councils or effectively banned. Any attempt to form an independent collective is viewed through the lens of national security. Pegahan, however, refused to accept this reality. Alongside fellow activist Rasul Bodaghi, he co-founded the Tehran Bus Drivers’ Syndicate in the early 2000s. This was not a political party seeking to overthrow the regime; it was a grassroots organization demanding basic economic dignity. Yet, in the Islamic Republic, the distinction between economic justice and political subversion is often deliberately erased. saeed pegahan
His writings and interviews, smuggled out and published by solidarity committees in Europe, articulate a vision of a secular, democratic Iran where workers have the right to strike, organize, and bargain collectively without fear of the gallows. This vision directly challenges the foundation of the Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist), which subordinates all social institutions to clerical authority. Because of the draconian nature of his sentence
Born in 1976 in Tehran, Saeed Pegahan grew up in the decade following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Unlike the prominent political figures who emerged from the clergy or the upper-middle class, Pegahan belonged to the working poor. He became a driver for the Tehran Bus Company, an occupation that placed him at the beating heart of the capital’s logistical struggles. It was within the cramped garages and on the smog-filled routes of Tehran that Pegahan witnessed firsthand the systemic exploitation of labor: low wages, grueling hours, unsafe working conditions, and the complete absence of independent unions sanctioned by the state. Any attempt to form an independent collective is
The response was swift and violent. Plainclothes officers of the Ministry of Intelligence and the paramilitary Basij militia arrested Pegahan and his colleagues. He was not charged with violating labor codes; he was charged with national security offenses. After a closed-door trial widely condemned by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Pegahan was convicted of “moharebeh” (enmity against God) and “assembly and collusion against national security.” He was sentenced to death, later commuted to a long prison term—initially 14 years, then extended to 19 years, plus additional sentences for “propaganda against the system.”
However, the international response has been fraught with geopolitical complexities. Western governments eager to confront Iran over its nuclear program have often cited Pegahan’s case, while pragmatic trade partners have remained silent. Pegahan himself has criticized the selective nature of this solidarity, emphasizing that foreign governments should advocate for all political prisoners—not just those whose cases serve a specific foreign policy agenda. In letters smuggled out of Evin, he has consistently called for the release of all detainees, including those imprisoned for drug offenses or religious dissent.
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