Tehran: A niece of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Farideh Moradkhani, an outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic, was arrested in November after she declared her support for the ongoing anti-hijab protests in Iran and called on the international community to cut ties with Tehran.
Moradkhani’s lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, said on Twitter his client was initially sentence to 15 years in prison, but after an appeal, Moradkhani’s sentence was reduced.
Moradkhani’s brother posted a video on YouTube, with the link shared on Twitter, in which she condemned the “clear and obvious oppression” Iranians have been subjected to, and criticized the international community’s inaction.
“Free people, be with us! Tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous and child-killing regime,” she said. “This regime is not loyal to any of its religious principles and does not know any law or rule except force and maintaining its power in any way possible.”
Moradkhani was arrested twice, earlier this year and in 2018, for criticizing the regime.
Iran has been rocked by sweeping protests since September 16, over the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
Her death has since ignited anger over several issues, including the restrictions imposed on personal freedoms and strict rules regarding women’s clothing, as well as the living and economic crisis that Iranians suffer from, not to mention the strict laws imposed by the regime and its political and religious composition in general.
It is noteworthy that women protestors topped the scene in Iran after some women set their headscarves on fire, chopped off their hair during demonstrations against the imposition of the hijab.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) announced that 475 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of December 8, including 65 minors.
At least 18,242 people, including 595 students, were arrested in those protests that took place in 160 cities and towns and 143 universities.
