Families of Three Signatories of Letter Demanding Khamenei’s Resignation Protest: Temporary Detention is Torture
The families of three signatories of the “Letter Demanding Khamenei’s Resignation” have expressed their concerns multiple times regarding the continued detention and the endangered health of the detainees.
According to reports published on social media, the families of “Mohammad Hossein Sepehri,” “Abbas Vahedian Shahrudi,” and “Hashem Khavastegar,” signatories of the letter demanding Khamenei’s resignation, have protested the continued detention of these individuals and other detainees, characterizing temporary detention as a form of “torture.”
According to Sedighe Malekifarad, wife of “Hashem Khavastegar,” these individuals are held in solitary confinement and have been deprived of phone contact and visits.
In late Khordad this year, 14 civil and political activists inside Iran signed a letter calling for Ali Khamenei’s resignation from leadership and fundamental changes to the constitution. Several signatories of this statement, including Houria Fraj Zade, Javad Lael Mohammadi, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, and Abdolreza Mortazavi, Fatema Sepehri, Poran Nazemi, Hashem Khavastegar, Mohammad Nourizad, and Abbas Vahedian Shahrudi, are among those detained.
The General Department of Information of Razavi Khorasan accused these individuals of “deliberate planning and design” for “creating conspiracy and new unrest in the country” and announced that the detainees intended to “design and execute a new conspiracy and sedition.”
International human rights organizations and the United States have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of speech and suppressing civil activists, and have called for the release of journalists who have been imprisoned solely for performing their duties and professions.
The U.S. State Department also states that the Iranian regime has detained thousands of protesters, civil activists, and representatives of workers and other professions in the past two years.
Source: Voice of America
