Ayatollah Khamenei’s activist niece calls on foreign governments to cut ties with Tehran

by

A video of Farideh Moradhani’s statement was widely circulated online following her arrest on November 23.

THE niece Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is a well-known human rights activist, called on foreign governments to sever all ties with Tehran, citing the violent crackdown on popular demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsha Amini after her arrest by the moral police.

A video of Farideh Moradhani’s statement was widely shared online after her arrest on November 23, activist news agency HRANA reported. Her father, who had married Khamenei’s sister, was a prominent figure in the opposition in Iran.

“You free people stand with us and tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous regime that is killing children. The regime does not adhere to any of its religious principles and knows no rules except violence and maintaining power,” Moradhani said.

According to HRANA, 450 protesters have been killed in the protests, including 63 minors. By November 26, 60 members of the security forces had also been killed while 18,173 protesters had been arrested.

The video was posted on YouTube on Friday by Farideh’s brother, Mahmoud Moradhani, who describes himself as an “opponent of the Islamic Republic” on his Twitter account. It was subsequently reproduced by various Iranian activists.

On November 23, Mahmoud Moradhani announced his sister’s arrest who received a court order to appear at the Tehran prosecutor’s office. Farideh was also arrested earlier this year by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence but was later released on bail. HRANA reported that he is now being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.

Her father, Ali Moradhani Arangeh, was a Shia cleric married to Khamenei’s sister. He passed away recently after years of isolation due to his stance against the Islamic Republic.

Farideh added in her video: “Now is the time for all free and democratic countries to recall their representatives from Iran, as a symbolic gesture, and expel the representatives of this brutal regime from their countries.”

Criticism of the regime by relatives of top officials is not unprecedented. In 2021 Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, was sentenced to prison for “anti-state propaganda”.

RES-EMP

You May Also Like

Recommended for you