Health Deterioration of Fatemeh Sepahri in Prison; Family's 'Death to Khamenei' Slogan Outside Hospital

Fatemeh Sepahri's brother, a political prisoner, states that she was transferred from Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad to the emergency department of Qaem Hospital in Razavi Khorasan due to 'heart problems.' Mohammad Hossein Sepahri, a teacher and political activist opposing the Islamic Republic, said in a video message from outside Qaem Hospital on Wednesday, October 5, that this political prisoner has undergone 'three surgeries in the past two years,' with 'the third one being arranged by the prison.' He mentioned that despite the attending physician emphasizing that 'the completion of treatment should be outside the prison environment, as the stress of prison completely halts the treatment process,' the authorities not only opposed this but also applied various forms of torture. He explained that 'the doctor's orders for therapeutic work, physiotherapy, and even a simple MRI were not carried out,' and added that 'their last method of pressure and torture was to completely close the windows in their room, which only allowed distinguishing between day and night.' According to Mohammad Hossein Sepahri, 'the pressures applied caused' Fatemeh Sepahri to develop 'heart disease,' and 'last week, the prison doctor recommended' that she undergo 'an echocardiogram and a stress test, which unfortunately were not performed in these 10 days.' He added that due to the judicial authorities' obstruction of this political prisoner's treatment process, 'last night, my sister's heart failed, and she was transferred to the prison clinic amid the screams of her cellmates, and despite the opposition of intelligence officers and the supervising judge, she was kept until the afternoon until the situation became completely emergency, and now she has been transferred to the emergency department of Qaem Hospital.' Mohammad Hossein Sepahri addressed the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, saying: 'Ali Khamenei! You who constantly recite elegies about the prisons of Harun, about the prisons of Hajjaj [ibn Yusuf], about your innocent Musa ibn Ja'far, do you know what is happening in your own prisons? Yes, you know! Curse be upon Khamenei!' At the end of this video message, Fatemeh Sepahri's family repeated the slogan 'Death to Khamenei, curse be upon Khomeini.' Fatemeh and Mohammad Hossein Sepahri are both political activists opposing the regime and signatories of the so-called '14 Statement' for the transition from the Islamic Republic and the resignation of its leader Ali Khamenei. Fatemeh Sepahri, who was arrested shortly after the killing of Mahsa Amini and the onset of nationwide protests in Iran, has been in prison for over a year and had previously told Voice of America: 'The people do not want the Islamic Republic, and this time they will finish the job.' Mohammad Hossein Sepahri has previously warned about his sister's health in prison and discussed his change of opinion after his prison experience in an interview with Voice of America. Fatemeh Sepahri, who is the wife of one of the victims of the Iran-Iraq War, had previously emphasized that if Ali Khamenei exploits the 'martyrs,' 'I will be ashamed of him.' The pressures on this political prisoner in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad have increased following these statements. The neglect in Fatemeh Sepahri's medical treatment comes at a time when Faramarz Javidzad, a Jewish dual-national prisoner, died due to denial of medical rights in Evin Prison.