'Won't Participate': Political Prisoner Calls for Iran's Presidential Poll Boycott

Fatemeh Sepehari, a political prisoner held in Mashhad's Vakilabad prison, has called for a boycott of the upcoming Iranian presidential election. 

In a statement shared by her brother Asghar Sepehari on X, she declared that "the end point of the Islamic Republic will soon be reached."

She criticized the clerical establishment and said, "We will not participate in your appointment circus."

"You are the most lying people in history, we do not trust you. You are the biggest thieves and embezzlers in society, we will not cooperate with you," she added.

The outspoken pro-democracy advocate was arrested in Mashhad on September 12, 2022, and was sentenced in February this year to a total of 18 years in prison. She faces charges including "propaganda against the regime," "cooperating with hostile countries," and "insulting" Ali Khamenei and his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini.

She is one of the 14 signatories of a 2019 statement calling for Khamenei's resignation, the abolition of the Islamic Republic, and the establishment of a secular government.

"You are the most ruthless rulers of the centuries of history, we will not bear the burden of your guilt. You are the most incompetent managers of any country, take responsibility. We will not assign you," she wrote.