Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s niece has been arrested following her comparison of him to Hitler and her call for foreign governments to sever ties with the Iranian regime. Farideh Moradkhani was taken into custody after urging international governments to cut all connections with the Iranian government, as per a tweet from her brother Mahmoud Moradkhani on November 27. Her arrest occurred when she went to the prosecutor’s office in response to a court order.
Farideh and Mahmoud Moradkhani, the children of Ali Tehrani, a cleric and long-standing opposition figure, were born to the supreme leader’s sister, Badri Hosseini Khamenei. It is noted that Tehrani passed away last month.
In a video statement released by her brother prior to her arrest, Moradkhani urged people worldwide to persuade their governments to sever ties with the Iranian regime amid ongoing protests in the nation. She described the Iranian people’s struggle against the regime’s oppressive forces and made a plea for support from democratic countries.
This is not the first time Farideh Moradkhani has been arrested by the Iranian regime. Her previous arrest occurred on January 13 while she was on her way home, during which Iranian security reportedly searched her house and seized some of her belongings.
The ongoing protests in Iran were initially ignited by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police in September. The unrest has spread to over 150 cities and 140 universities across all 31 provinces of Iran, leading to the arrest of more than 14,000 individuals, including children. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 21 people currently face the death penalty, and six have already received death sentences in connection with the protests.
The Twitter video below shows Farideh Moradkhani expressing her support for the Iranian revolution and denouncing the regime.
