Increased Pressure on Molavi Abdulhamid and Continued Arrests in Zahedan; Maki Mosque Filmmaker Arrested

Continuing the crackdown by security forces on the associates and personnel of Maki Mosque and close aides of Molavi Abdulhamid, another filmmaker from Maki Mosque in Zahedan was arrested by security forces. According to the news website 'Halosh', which covers news from Sistan and Baluchestan, on Monday, November 6, security forces arrested Abubakr Tawhidi, son of Molavi Ne'matullah Tawhidi and a filmmaker at Dar al-Uloom Maki in Zahedan, in the city and transferred him to an unknown location. 'Halosh' claims that the security forces acted with prior planning for this arrest. The website had previously reported on October 22 about the arrest of one of the professors of 'Dar al-Uloom' at Maki Mosque in Zahedan by military forces at his residence. The news website stated regarding the arrests in this province: 'Previously, Abd al-Nasir Shahbakhsh, Osama Shahbakhsh, and Mohammad Ali Narouyi, three filmmakers from Dar al-Uloom Maki in Zahedan, were also arrested by security forces and are still in detention and uncertainty.' Reports indicate that in recent months, arrests in Zahedan have intensified, and the scope of arrests has extended to individuals close to Molavi Abdulhamid Ismailzahi, the Sunni Friday Prayer Leader of Zahedan. Accordingly, many of these individuals, including Molavi Abdulmajid Moradzehi, Molavi Amanullah Saadi, Molavi Hamidullah Faroughi, Molavi Akbar Bidel, Molavi Hedayatullah Qanbarzehi, and Mehdi Khodashenas, faculty members and staff of Dar al-Uloom Maki in Zahedan, are currently detained by security forces. The situation in Zahedan became tense after a group of protesters were killed by military forces on October 1, 2022, following reports of 'the assault of a high-ranking police commander on a teenage Baloch girl' and in protest against the inaction of officials in dealing with this police commander. On that day, government agents shot at the protesters in Zahedan, resulting in the deaths of at least one hundred people and injuries to hundreds more. Protests by the people of Zahedan have continued since that day after Friday prayers and are known as the Friday protests of Zahedan. Molavi Abdulhamid has once again taken a stance against the Islamic Republic: 'Do not seek the destruction of Israel.' Molavi Abdulhamid called for justice regarding the 'Khash crime.' Internet outages and the widespread presence of security agents in Zahedan; a 'silent march' was held. A human rights organization reported that at least five children and teenagers are among those arrested in Zahedan. Protesters in Zahedan once again took to the streets 'despite the ongoing heavy security atmosphere.' Molavi Abdulhamid stated: 'The slogan for the destruction of Israel is useless; the two nations must live together.'