A U.S. State Department Spokesperson on the Attack on Gohar Eshghahi: We Are Deeply Concerned
Following reports of an attack on the mother of Sattar Beheshti and the publication of images showing her injured and bandaged head and face, a U.S. State Department spokesperson expressed concern regarding “attacks on human rights defenders and their families” in response to a question from Voice of America.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson, in a written response to a question from the Farsi service of Voice of America regarding the attack on Gohar Eshghahi and her assault, said: “We are aware of press reports regarding the attack on Gohar Eshghahi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti, while she was on her way to visit her son’s grave.”
The U.S. State Department spokesperson continued by alluding to the Iranian Islamic Republic government’s efforts to silence its opponents: “We have certainly witnessed a broader pattern of instances in which the Iranian government and those working on its behalf have attempted to intimidate or silence those who speak out against the regime.”
At the conclusion of the U.S. State Department spokesperson’s response, it stated: “We remain deeply concerned about reports of attacks on human rights defenders and their families.”
The Sattar Beheshti Foundation announced on Friday, December 10, through its Instagram account, while publishing an image of Ms. Eshghahi, that an attempted attack on her life occurred on December 9.
In a video released on Saturday, December 11, just two days after the apparent attempted attack, on the Sattar Beheshti Foundation’s Instagram account, Gohar Eshghahi spoke about the incident: “I was heading to the shrine. There were two people on a motorcycle. One of them got off and pushed me onto the railing. After that, I didn’t know where I was. I opened my eyes and came to and found myself in the hospital.”
In recent days, a number of activists and social media users, including journalist Masih Alinejad, host of the Voice of America program Tablet, and Hamed Esmaeilion, spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight 752 Victims, reacted to the attempted attack on Gohar Eshghahi’s life.
Prince Reza Pahlavi also reacted in recent days by posting a tweet about the attack on Sattar Beheshti’s mother, and by publishing an image of Ms. Eshghahi wrote: “The message of this photo is clear: Ali Khamenei, the leader of regional terrorists, fears Sattar’s persistent and justice-seeking mother.”
Source: Voice of America
