Fatemeh Sepehri Returned to Vakilabad Prison by Ambulance from Forensic Medical Commission

Fatemeh Sepehri's defense attorney stated that this political prisoner was returned to "Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad by ambulance" after being "sent to the Forensic Medical Commission" to determine her ability to endure prison or not. Recently, Khosrow Alikordi announced that due to the deterioration of Sepehri's health after her transfer from the hospital to prison, only a week after open-heart surgery, judicial authorities sent this political prisoner "from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad to the Forensic Medical Commission." In the latest update about his client on the social media platform "X," Alikordi wrote: "Fatemeh Sepehri was transferred to the Forensic Medical Commission in Mashhad to determine her ability to endure prison after her open-heart surgery and was again transferred by ambulance to Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad." On Wednesday, October 11, Alikordi wrote on "X": "Fatemeh Sepehri was sent from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad to the Forensic Medical Commission to express their opinion on whether she can endure imprisonment after her heart surgery." Alikordi also submitted a petition to the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Mashhad, referencing his client's open-heart surgery and her transfer back to Vakilabad Prison. In this petition, emphasizing the "deteriorating health" of his client and the "necessity of recovering outside of prison" based on "Article 502 of the Criminal Procedure Code," he requested the prosecutor's order to "suspend the execution of the sentence and release her from prison." Fatemeh Sepehri's brother, Asghar Sepehri, told VOA on Tuesday, October 10, that this political prisoner opposing the Islamic Republic was taken to Vakilabad Prison while she could not even get off the hospital bed, and they say to prove that she cannot endure punishment. In this conversation, Asghar emphasized that his sister "could not move at all from the bed, and transferring her to prison is practically like intending to take her life, as there are no suitable conditions in prison for someone who has had open-heart surgery, due to hygiene, medication, nutrition, and psychological conditions." According to him, "they have placed a hospital bed in prison," and the family has not been able to speak with Fatemeh Sepehri "by phone, as she cannot even get up from the bed to answer the phone. They have learned about her condition through her cellmates, and [the authorities] say they are trying to ensure she has good conditions." Fatemeh Sepehri was arrested shortly after the killing of Mahsa Amini and the beginning of nationwide protests in Iran, and she has been in prison for over a year. This political prisoner, who openly opposes the Islamic Republic and its leader Ali Khamenei, had told VOA a day before her arrest: "The people do not want the Islamic Republic, and this time they will finish the job." In August 2019, Sepehri, along with 13 other women activists, signed a letter calling for the resignation of Ali Khamenei and a "transition from the Islamic Republic."