The sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has criticized the Iranian government, calling it a “tyrannical caliphate.” This is coming on the background of the execution of a prisoner who was arrested during the protests. In a letter published by her France-based son Mahmoud Moradkhani on Twitter, Badri Hosseini Khamenei indicted the Iranian leader for “not listening to the voice of the people.” “As a human duty, many years ago, I repeatedly brought the voices of the people to the ears of my brother, but he didn’t pay any heed and followed (Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah) Khomeini’s way in suppressing and killing people,” she wrote in the letter, adding that she later cut her ties with him. Iran has seen widespread protests in recent months following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iranian morality police.
Thousands of people have been detained, according to human rights groups, while more than 200 people have died, as acknowledged by the Iranian Interior Ministry last week. Iran confirmed Thursday it executed a prisoner convicted for a crime allegedly committed during the country’s ongoing nationwide protests, the first such death penalty carried out by Tehran.
FILE - Iranians protest a 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini's death after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Sept. 20, 2022, in this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran. Iran’s atomic energy agency alleged Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, that hackers acting on behalf of an unidentified foreign country broke into a subsidiary’s network and had free access to its email system. Sunday's hack comes as Iran continues to face nationwide unrest first sparked by the Sept. 16 death of Amini. (AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)