Tehran : The niece of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been sentenced for publicly criticizing the Iranian regime and declaring support for nationwide anti-hijab protests. Farideh Moradkhani was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
Farideh was arrested by Iranian police on 23rd of last month. Faride has been in police custody since then.
The arrest came following the release of a video comparing Faride Khamenei, who is also an activist, to Hitler. Farideh has been jailed for his anti-government stance before this.
Farideh’s lawyer, Muhammad Hossain Akhasi, disclosed that he was sentenced to prison. Farideh’s trial was held in a clerical court independent of the country’s judiciary and answerable only to the supreme leader, the lawyer says. He said he was not allowed to stand trial and Farideh was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison, but it was reduced to three years on appeal.
Recently, Farideh’s mother and Khamenei’s sister Badri Hosseini Khamenei also criticized the regime and expressed support for the protests. Badri had demanded that he sever all ties with Khamenei and that Khamenei step down.