[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] CNN reported on the 27th (local time) that the nephew of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was arrested by Iranian authorities after posting a video criticizing the Iranian government on social networking services (SNS).
Farideh Moradkhani, who was arrested, strongly criticized the Iranian government as a murderous regime in connection with the government's violent crackdown on hijab protests. Moradkhani is the daughter of Badri Hosseini Khamenei, Khamenei's sister, and is active as a human rights activist. Moradkhani's father, Ali Moradkhani Arangeh, was a long-time opposition figure who passed away last year. Arangeh was classified as an anti-government figure opposing the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Moradkhani is also classified as an anti-regime figure.
According to Moradkhani's brother, Mahmoud Moradkhani, who revealed the details on Twitter, Moradkhani was arrested after appearing at the prosecutor's office on the 23rd in accordance with a court order.
Moradkhani recently posted a video criticizing the regime on SNS.
She criticized the Iranian government as a murderous regime that even kills children, stating that the Iranian government has no respect for religious principles and knows nothing of laws and rules except maintaining power and force.
Regarding the hijab protests, Moradkhani said that Iranians are bravely fighting the evil groups with bare hands, carrying a heavy responsibility at the cost of their lives, and emphasized that this is a historically very important moment.
She urged the entire world to cut support for the Iranian regime, calling on democratic countries to immediately sever ties with the Iranian government and halt all transactions.
Moradkhani was also arrested by authorities on January 13 of this year. At that time, Iranian security authorities searched Moradkhani's home and confiscated some of her belongings.
In Iran, anti-government protests have continued for more than two months following the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini, a woman in her 20s, who was arrested by police on September 13 for not properly wearing a hijab.
CNN reported that more than 14,000 people, including children, have been arrested so far during the protests, with at least 21 people sentenced to death and six executions already carried out.
Iranian human rights activist network HRANA announced on the 25th that 448 protest participants, including 63 minors, have lost their lives.
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