Trial in Prison; Fatemeh Sepehri: Either Acquittal or Imprisonment Until the End of the Islamic Republic

Fatemeh Sepehri and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri were again tried on charges of 'insulting the leadership and propaganda against the regime.' The brother of these two political prisoners stated that Ms. Sepehri emphasized either they should be acquitted and released or sentenced to imprisonment until the end of the Islamic Republic. According to Asghar Sepehri, the brother of these two political prisoners, the court session for Fatemeh and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri was held on Saturday, March 9, presided over by 'Hossein Yazdankhah,' and they participated in the trial 'from inside Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.' Fatemeh Sepehri and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri are two signatories of the '14th Statement,' which was written in June 2019 by a group of civil and political activists in Iran, calling for a transition from the Islamic Republic and the resignation of its leader, Ali Khamenei. According to this report, the reason for the new case against these two political prisoners, who have been imprisoned in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for years due to their opposition to the Islamic Republic, was 'a joint statement' they issued from Vakilabad Prison on January 6. This statement, addressed to Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has led to the new charges against these two political prisoners. In the statement, Fatemeh Sepehri and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri referred to the leader of the Islamic Republic as a 'real mercenary' and a 'plunderer destroying the lives' of Iranians, stating that soon Ali Khamenei and 'his decaying regime will be trampled underfoot by the people.' They emphasized: 'Ali Khamenei, you are the real mercenary, and your gang has plundered the resources of this country for years and led people's lives to ruin. You who shout that the people of Iran will trample the mercenaries, know that soon you and your decaying regime will be trampled underfoot by the same people.' According to the brother of these political prisoners, 'the judge refused to accept the defendants' lawyer' in court, denying them their legal right to defense. According to this report, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri stated during the court session, 'For financial corruption related to the tea industry during the administrations of Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi, involving an embezzlement of about $3.4 billion, Javad Sadati-Nejad, the Minister of Agriculture, and Reza Fatemi-Amiri, the Minister of Industry, were sentenced to two years and one year of imprisonment, respectively. What crime have my sister and I been sentenced to 5 and 10 years in prison for? When Ali Khamenei calls his opponents mercenaries, we responded to him.' The brother of these political prisoners also mentioned that 'Fatemeh Sepehri addressed Judge Hossein Yazdankhah, saying: either acquit and release my brother and me from all charges, or give us a prison sentence until the end of the Islamic Republic.' Recently, Fatemeh Sepehri and Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, along with several other activists, plaintiffs, and political prisoners, emphasized in a message on the occasion of March 9, 'People's Day,' that the phoenix of Iran will rise again from its ashes, and Pahlavi will return to Iran. Asghar Sepehri also reminded that 'since December 6, 2024, coinciding with the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Block 5 of Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad has been locked down,' and 'this action was ordered by Navid Tabatabai (the supervising judge of the prison) and Hadi Ismailzadegan (the head of Mashhad Central Prison), increasing psychological pressure on Fatemeh Sepehri, Farzaneh Ghareh-Hassanloo, and Zahra Kohnehkar.' Zahra Kohnehkar, a political prisoner who was active on social media under the pseudonym 'Sepandazar' before her arrest, previously revealed the violations of the rights of female political prisoners in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America. Also see: Recognizing Unknown Prisoners; Exclusive Interview of Voice of America with Zahra Kohnehkar. Your submission | A group gathering of Iranians in Hamburg in support of Fatemeh Sepehri and Nahid Shirpich. Reza Mohammadi from prison: 'The regime' fears the laughter of children and the embrace of mothers. Arrest of Javad Ali-Kordi, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs' families, in Mashhad. Narges Mohammadi expressed concern about the situation of Fatemeh Sepehri, a political prisoner.