Nov. 27 (UPI) — Farideh Moradkhani, the niece of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has compared her uncle to fascist dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
“How long do we have to witness oppression by political autocrats in any part of this world? Isn’t the experience of Hitler, Mussolini, Ceaușescu, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Khomeini and his last one, Khamenei, enough?” Moradkhani said.
Moradkhani’s comments came in the form of a video message posted to YouTube and Twitter on Friday by her brother, Mahmoud Moradkhani.
It was not immediately clear when the message was recorded and Mahmoud said she was arrested and taken to prison on Wednesday.
“All humanity is observing that Iranian people with empty hands, with exemplary courage and bravery, are fighting with the evil forces,” Moradkhani said.
“At this point in time, the people of Iran are carrying the burden of this heavy human responsibility alone by paying with their lives.”
Moradkhani also criticized apparent inaction other than “short and ineffective statements” by the United Nations as her country suffers under “obvious cruel oppression.”
She also blasted the “ridiculous and laughable sanctions” that have been levied against Iranian officials.
“For the first time in human history, women are dictating their hidden power over this patriarchal society and showing with all the courage that the place of real power is in the thought and not in the muscle,” Moradkhani said.
Moradkhani called on people worldwide to tell their governments to stop supporting “this murderous and child-killing regime” which she said is not loyal to any of the religious principles of Islam.”The brave Iranians are actually at war with all the governments that support these oppressive rulers,” Moradkhani said.
Moradkhani and her brother are the children of Khamenei’s sister Badri Hosseini Khamenei and her husband, Ali Tehrani.
She was previously arrested in January after she praised the widow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in Geneva on Thursday that the human rights situation in Iran is deteriorating.
“It pains me to see what is happening in the country. The images of children killed. Of women beaten in the streets. Of people sentenced to death,” Türk said.
“We have seen waves of protests over the past years, calling for justice, equality, dignity and respect for human rights. They have been met with violence and repression. The unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must come to an end.”
Türk said that 14,000 people including children have been arrested in Iran since protests began, sparked by the death Mahsa Amini in September. Amini, 22, died after she was detained by police for not wearing her hijab properly.
At least 21 arrested during the protests face the death penalty and at least six have already been sentenced to death for charges of “enmity against God” and “corruption on Earth.”
