Fatemeh Sepehri to Behdar: You Have Already Stuck Your Hands in the Pockets of the Plundered Nation of Iran

Fatemeh Sepehri, a political prisoner in Vakilabad prison in Mashhad, accused Masoud Behdar, the President of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic, of having already stuck his hands in the "pockets of the plundered nation of Iran" before even arriving. In a message from Fatemeh Sepehri, which her brother Asghar Sepehri published on social media on Thursday, September 13, this political prisoner opposing the Islamic Republic stated that her husband was among the casualties of the Iran-Iraq war. She said, "With a rightful criticism, I was sent to the corner of the Vakilabad prison cell with a broken heart and a wounded body, and my rights, which were derived from the blood of my martyr husband and paid from the pockets of this nation and homeland, were seized in favor of proxy and clerical groups." She also mentioned that her brother Mohammad Hossein Sepehri had "taught physics in high school for 26 years," adding, "Not only was he expelled from the education system and sent to prison, but his family, who were tenants in an endowment property, were forced to vacate the house by the Endowment and Charity Organization and by court order, even after paying the rent on time and in full to earn complete merit for the souls of benefactors." Ms. Sepehri emphasized, "Mr. President, you have come and before even arriving, you have already stuck your hands in the pockets of the plundered nation of Iran; what are you looking for?" Fatemeh Sepehri is a political prisoner opposing the Iranian government and a signatory of the "14th Statement" calling for Ali Khamenei's resignation and a transition away from the Islamic Republic. She had been imprisoned multiple times before and was arrested again at the end of September 2022, and has been in prison since then, facing repeated "case-making". Ms. Sepehri, who was recovering from hand surgery at the time of her arrest, also developed heart disease in prison and underwent emergency open-heart surgery last year, while her two brothers who were following up on her health status were also arrested. Additionally, it is noted that this political prisoner is facing serious physical problems in prison, and her relatives have warned that while she "must be examined every three months," she was last examined by a heart specialist on May 1 and is currently suffering from "high and irregular heartbeats as well as chest and back pain."