Iranian writer and artist Mehdi Bahman was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of Iran. Bachman was arrested in October for an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 in April in which he criticized the Iranian regime and called for peace with the Jewish state.

Security forces arrested Bahman at his home in Tehran, reports Human Rights Defenders Information Agency (HRANA), a press association founded in 2009 by Iranian human rights defenders, writes jns.org

“At one o’clock in the morning, security forces detained him for supporting nationwide protests. During a short call to the family, he said he was being held in Unit 209 of Evin Prison,” a source close to the Bachman family told HRANA.

A series of protests have erupted in Iran since September, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman, was detained and later died in custody.

The regime responded with force to quell the protests. About 20,000 people were arrested. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities are seeking the death penalty for at least 27 protesters. Opposition officials say more than 100 protesters face the death penalty.