"The prisoners were all ears while Janyar recounted them an anecdote from [Dostoevsky's] ‘The Idiot.’ One inmate … however, looked as though he had been asleep for centuries. His eyes were open, but he was no longer seeing anything. What they had been all talking about had quietly and surreptitiously called on their inmate. It calls on everyone in a different way. Their inmate had died of a heart attack; as simple as that."

The above passage is part of "Jan” (“The Soul”), a 456-page semi-autobiographical work by prominent Iranian rights activist Emadeddin Baghi. Baghi’s description of death in the prison cell reflects his advocacy against the death penalty for more than three decades.

According to a 2017 Amnesty International report, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq are the top three countries to implement the death penalty, accounting for 92% of executions in the region. But few in Iran dare raise their voices against it, as any explicit criticism of capital punishment pushes red lines and brings unpredictable risks to opponents.

Despite this backdrop, Baghi has written numerous articles and books over the last 35 years. His essays — some of which were banned — range from subjects such as the Islamic law of Qesas (retribution) to the stoning sentence and to jurisprudential reasons for the repeal of the execution of minors. So he produced a work of fiction to illustrate his fight against capital punishment, which was published in early 2019.