US supports writers of letter calling for Khamenei's resignation from leadership; we demand their release

The US State Department spokesperson, naming Abdul Rasoul Mortazavi, Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Nourizad, Mohammad Sepehri, Fatemeh Sepehri, and three others, condemned the issuance of long prison sentences to them solely because of their "call for political change."

US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus stressed on her Twitter account on Thursday, February 14: "We call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran."

On June 11 of this year, 14 civil and political activists inside Iran published an open letter calling for Ali Khamenei's resignation as leader and a fundamental change to the constitution.

Eight of the signatories of the letter of resignation of Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, namely Hashem Khastar, Mohammad Nourizad, Abdolrasoul Mortazavi, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri, Fatemeh Sepehri, Hashem Rajaei, Mohammad Hossein Pour, and Morteza Ghasemi, have been sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to a total of 72 years in prison, a 6-year ban on leaving the country, and 6 years in exile.

After the publication of the first letter, 14 female activists in Iran issued a statement calling for "Ali Khamenei's resignation" and "transition from the Islamic Republic."

Most of these political and civil activists have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms.

Source: Voice of America