News Center- Iranian political activist Fatemeh Sepehri, who has been held in Mashhad's Central Prison, is denied necessary medical treatment despite experiencing severe physical and mental distress.

On Wednesday, her brother, Asghar Sepehri, wrote on X that his sister’s heart rate was high and she could barely spoke. “My sister's health condition is alarming. Due to psychological pressure from the prison authorities, her heart rate is consistently high. The prison healthcare only provides injections and sleeping drugs,” said his post.

Fatemeh Sepehri’s mother posted a video saying that the Iranian regime sent back her daughter to the prison after undergoing an open-heart surgery to prevent her treatment and that if something happens to her daughter, Ali Khamenei will be responsible.

Fatemeh Sepehri is a political and women’s rights activist. She is one of the signatories of the Statement of 14 Political Activists during the 2017–2018 Iranian protests requesting the resignation of Ali Khamenei from his post as the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and later the abolition of Islamic republic and establishment of a democratic secular government.

She was detained in Mashhad on August 1, 2021 during a peaceful demonstration demanding the release of political prisoners. She was then released. She was arrested in a house raid on September 21, 2022. In February 21, she was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Court of Appeal of Mashhad on charges of “propaganda activities against the Islamic republic”, “cooperation with hostile governments”, “insulting the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei”, and “gathering and conspiring against national security”.

In September 2023, she was temporary released from prison. She underwent her heart surgery on October 1 and returned to prison on October 7, 2023.