Protest of the families of three signatories of the letter calling for Khamenei's resignation: Temporary detention is torture
The families of three of the signatories of the "letter calling for Khamenei's resignation" have expressed their concern for the umpteenth time about the continued detention and the endangerment of the detainees' health.
According to news published on social media, the families of Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi, and Hashem Khastar, who signed the letter calling for Khamenei's resignation, protested the continued detention of these individuals and other detainees, calling the temporary detention an example of "torture."
According to Sediqeh Malikifard, the wife of Hashem Khastar, these people are in solitary confinement and have been denied phone calls and visits.
In late June of this year, 14 civil and political activists inside Iran signed a letter calling for Ali Khamenei to resign as leader and for a fundamental change to the constitution. A number of signatories to the statement include Huriyeh Farajzadeh, Javad Lal Mohammadi, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri and Abdolrasoul Mortazavi, Fatemeh Sepehri, Pouran Nazemi, Hashem Khastar, and Mohammad Nourizad and Abbas Vahedian Shahroudi, among those arrested.
In a report, the General Intelligence Directorate of Khorasan Razavi accused these individuals of "purposeful planning and design" to "create a new conspiracy and chaos in the country" and announced that the detainees intended to "design and implement a new conspiracy and sedition."
International human rights organizations and the United States government have accused the Islamic Republic of violating freedom of expression and suppressing civil activists, and have called for the release of journalists who have been imprisoned simply for carrying out their duties and careers.
The US State Department also says that the Iranian regime has arrested thousands of protesters, civil activists, and representatives of workers and other trade unions in the last two years.
Source: Voice of America
