Here is a story you have heard a thousand times before. It is the same narrative dominating the news cycle today as it was yesterday. A man in **Iran** named **Ali Rahbar** went to prison. He went there because he was a **political protester**, standing up to shout that things were bad. He went there because he thought his voice mattered. And now, **Ali Rahbar is dead in custody**.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. If you are surprised, you haven't been paying attention to the analytics of how the world works.

The people in charge—the authorities enforcing strict **Iranian regime laws**—say it wasn't their fault. Of course they say that; it's standard crisis management. They say, "Oh, no, we don't kill people in our jails. We run a nice place." They deny the allegations of **torture** and shake their heads, acting insulted that anyone would accuse them of being monsters. But we all know the truth. We know it in our gut. When a healthy person walks into a cage run by people who hate him, and he comes out in a box, it is not a mystery. It is not a medical accident. It is likely an unreported **execution**—murder done in the dark to avoid the paperwork.

Now we have the **human rights organizations**. These are the people who make lists and investigate the **Ali Rahbar case**. They use high-volume search terms like "**extrajudicial killing**." Let me translate that for you: it means the government killed a guy without even pretending to give him a fair trial. The rights groups are upset. They are writing reports. They are very busy typing on their computers about how terrible this is.

But let’s be honest with ourselves. Does a report stop a bullet? Does a strongly worded letter stop a guard from swinging a club? No. It never has and it never will. The people running the show in Iran—and let’s be real, the people running the show in a lot of places—do not care about your reports. They do not care about your feelings. They care about power. And nothing says "I have the power" quite like taking a life and getting away with it.

The saddest part isn't the cruelty. Humans have always been cruel. We are violent animals wearing shoes. The saddest part is the hope. Poor **Ali Rahbar** probably had hope. He probably thought that if enough people yelled, the walls would come down. He thought that if he was brave, things would change. That is the trap. That is the trick. The system feeds on hope. It waits for you to stick your neck out, and then—chop.

And look at the rest of the world. Look at the politicians in the West. They will stand up in their nice suits and say, "This is bad. We condemn this **violation of international law**." They will make a sad face for the cameras. Then, five minutes later, they will go back to eating their expensive lunches. They will go back to making deals. They don't actually care about Ali. He is just a prop for them. He is just a talking point. The Left will use him to talk about human rights until they get bored. The Right will use him to talk about how much they hate Iran’s government until they get bored. Nobody actually cares about the guy who died alone on a cold floor.

This is why I am tired. I am tired of watching people pretend that there is justice. There is no justice. There are only strong people and weak people. The strong people have the keys to the jail, and the weak people are inside. When one of the weak people dies, the strong people shrug. They say it was an accident. They say he was sick. They lie to your face, and they know that you know they are lying. They don't care.

So, **Ali Rahbar** is gone. His family is crying. The rights groups are typing. The government is lying. And the world keeps spinning. Tomorrow, there will be another Ali. There will be another **Iran protest**. There will be another arrest. And there will be another body. We are stuck in a loop of stupid, violent nonsense. We keep hoping for a hero or a change, but all we get are more graves.

Don't look for a happy ending here. There isn't one. The only lesson is that power is ugly, and it crushes anyone who gets in the way. It’s not about politics. It’s not about religion. It’s about a boot stamping on a human face, forever. And the rest of us just sit here and watch.

***

### References & Fact-Check * **Primary Source:** [Iran Protester Dies in Custody, Raising Fears of Execution](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/world/middleeast/ali-rahbar-iran-protester.html) (The New York Times) * **Subject:** Ali Rahbar, Iranian Protester. * **Event:** Death in custody following detention during protests. * **Context:** Allegations of extrajudicial killing and human rights violations by Iranian authorities.