Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: A special clerical court in Iran has sentenced the niece of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, to three years in prison.
Farideh Moradkhani, a vocal critic of the current regime, was arrested in November after declaring support for the ongoing protests in Iran. She even asked the international community to cut ties with Tehran, according to her lawyer, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi. He said that Moradkhani was initially given a sentence of 15 years in prison, but it was reduced after an appeal.
Aghasi said that the court has no jurisdiction over his client’s case as she is not a cleric. However, he did not say what was Moradkhani charged with, and neither have the officials commented on the case yet.
Moradkhani has been arrested two times, once this year and earlier in 2018, over her criticism of the regime.
Supreme leader’s Niece supports ongoing protests
Last week, Badri Hosseini Khamenei, mother of Moradkhani and niece of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also declared opposition to her brother’s regime and called on armed forces to join protesters before it was too late.
Iran has been caught up in one of the most severe protests of its history following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in custody after being arrested by the morality police.
