Ayatollah Khamenei’s niece urges world to cut ties with Iran over unrest
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Sulaiman
- . November 28, 2022
- . Update: November 28, 2022 8:11 pm
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s niece, Farideh Moradkhani, has urged the world to cut ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran over its violent crackdown on peaceful protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody.
Moradkhani’s video was shared online. She said in the video, “O free people, be with us and tell your governments to stop supporting this murderous and child-killing regime. Now is the time for all democratic countries to recall their representatives from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The video was shared on YouTube by her brother, Mahmoud Moradkhani. He said that her sister was arrested in November.
News agency HRANA said that Farideh Moradkhani, who is also a rights activist, was arrested on November 23. Her late father was married to Khamenei’s sister. He recently passed away in Iran.
Earlier, Farideh was arrested by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and later released on bail. She also faced a 15-year prison sentence on unspecified charges.
Earlier, the Iranian authorities arrested Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, the daughter of late former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Read | Iran: Many people died as a crackdown on protests continue
According to HRANA, 450 protesters, including children, had been killed in Iranian protests. Reportedly, 60 members of the Iranian security forces had been killed in protests. HRANA said that around 18,173 protesters had also been detained.
Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a member of parliament, said that around 105 people had been killed in Kurdish-populated areas in protests.
The protests erupted in the Islamic Republic after the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. She was arrested on September 13 allegedly for wearing an “inappropriate attire.” Three days later, she died in a hospital in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
People took to the streets to protest against her untimely death. They burned pictures of Khamenei and called for the downfall of the Iranian regime. Women chopped off their hair and burned their mandatory hijabs to protest against the regime.
