An Iranian activist who called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to Radio Free Europe.
Fatemeh Sepehri, a vocal critic of Khamenei, was handed down the jail term this week, according to her brother Asghar Sepehri, who tweeted that his sister had told him during a phone call from jail about the ruling by the Islamic Revolutionary Court.
He explained that his sister was given 10 years for “propaganda activities” against the regime, five years for “cooperation with hostile governments,” two years for insulting the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the current Ayatollah Khamenei, and one year for “gathering and conspiring against national security.”
Sepehri was one of 14 anti-regime activists inside Iran who called for Khamenei to resign. They urged the creation of a new political system with a contitution that would give women equal rights.
Criticism of Khamenei is considered taboo in Iran, with critics generally ending up held in solitary confinement and tortured in prison.
Sepehri was arrested by security forces on September 21 during the early days of country-wide protests over the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police.
Amini’s death sparked months of protests and clashes with security forces, during which thousands of protesters were arrested.
In October, Iran announced it would hold public trials for 1,000 protesters who took part in demonstrations.
That same week, Iranian police opened fire on crowds of mourners gathered in Amini’s home city.
A crowd of thousands had arrived at the grave of the 22-year old when security officials began to aggressively disperse mourners.
Witnesses and a human rights group reported that police used live ammunition and tear gas against protesters that had gathered in Saqqez for the event, according to BBC News.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)