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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat

Rafsanjani's Family Urges Iranian Authorities to Release his Daughter

Faezeh Rafsanjani, daughter of the former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (file photo: AFP)

The family of the former Iranian president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, demanded the release of his daughter, Faezeh, who was arrested by the authorities last September on charges of incitement to protest.

The Jamaran website, affiliated with the office of the first Supreme Leader Khomeini, reported that the family said they were pressured by the "accusation" of being the sons of Rafsanjani, adding that it was possible to solve the situation by releasing women from political prisons, including their sister Faezeh.

Faezeh Hashemi was among 30 Iranian female prisoners who signed a memo last month calling on the Iranian authorities to stop the execution of demonstrators.

Iranian authorities released political activists after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pardoned them earlier this month, including director Mohammed Rasoulof, French-Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, and activist Farhad Meysami.

The reformist Etemad newspaper said that the pardon had included 50 detained activists.

The released detainees were asked to "express their remorse" in writing, but most released activists issued statements confirming they did not agree to these conditions.

Faezeh Hashemi sent a message addressing the Chief Justice of Iran, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, asserting she would continue her activities if released.

Her sister, Fatemeh, sparked controversy last month when she posted a video on the seventh anniversary of her father's death, implicitly repeating the suspicions about her father's death.

Rafsanjani died of a heart attack while swimming in a pool in northern Tehran.

In January, the Iranian authorities released Mehdi, Rafsanjani's son, after more than seven years in prison. He was convicted of fraud, embezzlement, and undermining national security in August 2015.

He considered at the time that the sentence was "politically motivated."

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