Faezeh Hashemi, the jailed daughter of Iran’s Expediency Council chief, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, has been sentenced to three weeks in solitary confinement and barred from any visits for “insulting the leader” and “disrupting prison order.”
Kaleme reports that in recent weeks, political prisoners in the women’s section of Evin Prison have protested against prison conditions and the pressure exerted on inmates.
Kaleme writes: “Last week, in protest against the lawlessness and continuous pressure on inmates, the prisoners protested and chanted slogans such as ‘Death to the oppressor, be he the king or the leader!’ and ‘Death to the leader!’ and these slogans were regarded as insults to the Supreme Leader, and so far they have chosen Faezeh Hashemi for punishment.”
Kaleme reports that Faezeh Hashemi has been officially indicted for this episode, and actions against other female prisoners are also being prepared.
The report also indicates that the Hashemi family has gone to visit Faezeh Hashemi in prison but were told they cannot see her.
Kaleme goes on to add that the Deputy Chief of Security at Evin Prison was “irate over the recent protests and has taken further steps to increase pressure on the prisoners, telling the prisoners: ‘I am no man if Faezeh Hashemi leaves this prison.’”
Faezeh Hashemi was initially sentenced to six months in jail for the charge of “propaganda against the regime” and she was also barred from political activity for five years. She began serving her sentence in late August 2012.
The evidence against Hashemi was based on an interview she had given to the Roozonline website, condemning the attacks against herself and her family and blaming them on “factions within the government”.
The Hashemi family has become a target of attacks by conservative elements in the Islamic Republic, especially after the controversial 2009 elections that led to widespread mass protests. In the aftermath of the protests, the reformists and progressive elements in the establishment have been heavily sidelined and persecuted.
