Sepideh Gholian Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Chanting 'Khamenei is Zahhak, We Will Bury You Under the Soil'

Mehdi Gholian, the brother of Sepideh Gholian, announced on his Instagram page on Thursday evening, May 3, 2023, that his sister has been sentenced to two years in prison. Mr. Gholian wrote: 'Yesterday we learned that Sepideh has been sentenced to two years in prison, starting over again, something that had just ended. Since Fall 2018, we have seen Sepideh behind bars and in exile. Since 2018, we have been in a struggle, although we are in a wider prison, traveling kilometers. Most weeks, Sepideh is without visits because she refuses, and she becomes tired and saddened instead of us due to the long journey, but we have not given up and will not give up; we have learned this resistance and sacrifice from her.' He added: 'Honestly, the situation is such that we are happy Sepideh is still alive, although since the night she was taken on the road and did not reach home, there are many painful images in my mind and the family's. It is clear that her path is defined like many of her peers, a two-year sentence for a chant at the prison gate after her release.' Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist, chanted 'Khamenei is Zahhak, we will bury you under the soil' on March 15, 2023, after being released from Evin Prison without wearing a mandatory hijab, and was re-arrested shortly after chanting this slogan. On April 11, 2023, in a text sent from inside prison, which was received by VOA, she emphasized the 'scripted and show trial' nature of courts in Iran, calling the Islamic Republic a 'government of Islamic executions' that holds 'humble discoverers of springs and protesters against tyranny' as hostages. This political prisoner, in her letter, expressed her wish for the overthrow of the 'Zahhak of our time' and emphasized that she would not participate in any court proceedings. The spokesperson for the judiciary of the Islamic Republic stated that Sepideh Gholian has committed an insult.