Iranian Political Prisoner Psychologically Tortured
Fatemeh Sepehri, an Iranian political prisoner and outspoken critic of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been subjected to psychological torture by a judiciary psychiatrist.
Fatemeh Sepehri, an Iranian political prisoner and outspoken critic of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been subjected to psychological torture by a judiciary psychiatrist.
Fatemeh Sepehari's brother says that Iran's judicial authorities organized a virtual meeting in Mashhad's Vakilabad prison with the presence of a "psychological interrogator", who asked her questions about her childhood.
Emphasizing that "this person refused to tell my sister his name", Asghar Sepehri wrote on X: “She is in an abysmal mental state after the session”.
The political prisoner has been imprisoned since September 21, 2022 during the Women, Life, Freedom protests. Despite her illness and several operations, including open heart surgery, she remains in confinement.
Sepehri faces severe charges, including "collaboration with hostile countries" resulting in a ten-year sentence, "conspiracy and collusion" resulting in five years of imprisonment, "insulting the leadership" resulting in two years of imprisonment, and "propaganda against the system" resulting in one year of imprisonment.
Earlier in April the judiciary opened a new case for her with the charge of "supporting Israel" after she condemned the atrocities committed by Iran-backed Hamas on October 7 which triggered a proxy war in the region.
Contradicting remarks by the Islamic Republic's armed forces chief, who claimed that the attack had achieved all of its objectives, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm Hagari who accompanied Iran International's reporter to the airbase stated that the facilities had sustained minimal damage. Video footage shows that there was minor damage to non-critical areas in the base, while F-35 warplanes were seen taking off.
Hagari explained that the only place that has suffered some damage to its infrastructure during Iran’s attack is this airbase which is “fully in operation”.
“The Islamic Republic is lying. All the money that Iran spent on this attack resulted only in this pit”, The IDF spokesman said, showing a cavity in the ground next to an unfinished concrete structure.
Iran launched hundreds of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones at Israel on Saturday. However, the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed that some 99% of the incoming projectiles were downed, and those that survived caused only minor damage.
As reported by the IDF, the Israeli Air Force successfully intercepted and destroyed 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles outside the country's borders.
Another factor contributing to the limited impact was that US, UK, French, and Jordanian jets flying over the region and downing Iranian drones and cruise missiles.
In addition, Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates provided intelligence assistance to the defensive operation, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
As this is the first time Iran has attacked Israel from its soil, the threat of a wider conflict in the region has been raised.
Until now, Israel has stated that the Iranian attack on its soil "will be met with a response", but has not provided further details. The Israeli war cabinet has made three times to decide about a potential response. Israel's Western allies have urged restraint, concerned about a further escalation in the region.
Israel Army Chief of Staff Gen. Halevi stated in a video statement that Iran will face the consequences of its actions. “We will choose our response accordingly."
