New Charge of 'Insulting Khamenei and Khomeini' Added to Fatemeh Sepehri and Her Brothers' Case

Asghar Sepehri, the brother of Fatemeh Sepehri, stated that the judge of the fifth branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad has sent the case of the three to Ali Soleimani Marshak, the investigator, to add the charge of 'insulting Khamenei and Khomeini' to their case. According to Asghar Sepehri, this action was taken by Judge Yazdankhah after the court session on May 7. Mr. Sepehri emphasized that his brothers were arrested on October 6, one day before Fatemeh Sepehri's surgery at Qaem Hospital in Mashhad while they were following up on her treatment. He noted that Mohammad Hossein Sepehri has been imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for over 8 months. Another brother, Hossein Sepehri, is currently out on bail. According to Mr. Sepehri, Fatemeh Sepehri has also been in prison for over 20 months, and her phone is 'heavily' monitored. The family of Fatemeh Sepehri, a political prisoner, previously announced on social media that she has been accused of 'supporting Israel' for condemning the October 15 attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israel. Fatemeh Sepehri is one of the opponents of the Islamic Republic and the leadership of Ali Khamenei. In one of her latest statements in a video from the hospital released in October, she said that the Middle East has 'not seen peace' since the Islamic Republic came to power and hopes that the Iranian government's case will be 'closed in the storm of Al-Aqsa it has unleashed.' Fatemeh Sepehri is also one of the signatories of a letter requesting the resignation of the Supreme Leader, which was published on September 21, 2022, at the beginning of the nationwide protests 'Women, Life, Freedom' and she was arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic. The first branch of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad sentenced Sepehri to 18 years in prison on charges of 'collaborating with hostile governments,' 'gathering and colluding,' 'insulting the leadership,' and 'propaganda against the regime,' and this sentence was confirmed by the appeals court. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, a ten-year prison sentence will be applicable to her.