Increased Security Pressures on Abdulhamid; Arrest and Expulsion of 132 Religious Preachers from Makki Mosque

Continuing the pressure from security agencies on Mawlawi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, the Islamic Republic's television reported yesterday the arrest of 132 religious preachers at the Makki Mosque seminary in Zahedan. According to official government media, these individuals were expelled from the country after their arrest due to 'lack of residency permits.' The Islamic Republic's television simultaneously aired interviews with some of these individuals, showing that some of the detainees had 'confessed' in front of the security agencies' cameras before their expulsion. The 'Tasnim' news agency, affiliated with security agencies, also published a similar report claiming that the detainees were engaged in activities at this seminary with 'illegal residency and fake identities.' This news agency also claimed that 'based on investigations conducted by responsible agencies, a significant number of teachers and sometimes managers of the Makki school have illegal civil documents and fake identities, having been present in the country for many years and benefiting from various advantages.' According to the Islamic Republic's television, 'These individuals should have been sentenced to several years in prison for the crimes committed, but were handed over to their home country with Islamic mercy.' The Tasnim news agency also claimed, without naming names, that 'some individuals affiliated with a specific faction played a role in obtaining fraudulent identity documents.' The continuation of arrests comes as it is expected that tomorrow, in continuation of the protest Fridays in Zahedan, a protest march will still be held in this city. On the last protest Friday, July 7, security agencies cut off the internet in Zahedan after Mawlawi Abdulhamid began his speech, halting the live Instagram broadcast associated with this protesting cleric. However, the Baloch Activists Campaign reported that the Baloch people, after performing Friday prayers, marched in protest as they have for the past nine months, chanting slogans such as 'By the blood of our comrades, we stand until the end.' The pressures on the Imam of the Makki Mosque led protesters to chant slogans in support of Mawlawi Abdulhamid, such as 'Your words are the words of the nation, Mawlawi with honor.' Last Friday's march was different from previous weeks, with supportive slogans for 'Mawlawi Abdulhamid' and 'Tomaaj Salehi,' as well as holding placards with messages like 'Death to Khamenei' and 'Political prisoners must be freed,' reflecting the people's reaction to the recent arrests in Zahedan. The Islamic Republic is attempting to end the protest Fridays in Zahedan by arresting Mawlawi Abdulhamid's associates, but to date, these efforts have been fruitless, and thus arrests continue. Following these security measures, on July 5, one of the 'long-standing' members of the Makki Mosque's security was arrested by the Zahedan Intelligence Department and transferred to an unknown location. The Baloch Activists Campaign identified the arrested individual as 'Younes Nahtani,' aged 35. On July 3, another long-standing member of the Makki security was also arrested by security forces and transferred to an unknown location. On July 1, the Zahedan Intelligence Department arrested four of Mawlawi Abdulhamid's associates, including his grandson. According to the 'Halosh' report, Abdulnasir Shahbakhsh, Mawlawi Abdulhamid's granddaughter's grandson and one of the employees of the Makki Mosque seminary, had previously been summoned to the Zahedan Intelligence Department. Reports indicate that two other detainees, Osama Shahbakhsh and Hamid Mohammadi Nik, were two cameramen from the Makki Mosque whose arrests were accompanied by 'violence.' The pressures on Mawlawi Abdulhamid intensified when a 'assassination plot' against him was revealed, and after the arrest of the 'assassin' in the Makki Mosque, the office of the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan stated in a statement that the individual in question 'apparently has affiliations with certain agencies.' According to Halosh reports, on July 3, 'a key member of the mosque's security named Abdulwahid Shahlibar' was arrested after being summoned to the prosecutor's office and transferred to an unknown location. After the news of the 'failed assassination plot' was published and as pressures escalated, Mawlawi Abdulhamid stated in his Friday prayer sermon: 'I will risk any threat for the goals of the Iranian nation.' On Saturday, July 8, following an armed attack by elements of the 'Jaish al-Adl' group on the 16th police station in Zahedan, security forces carried out widespread arrests in Zahedan, and according to the Baloch Activists Campaign and Halosh website, the atmosphere in Zahedan after the attack on the police station became militarized, with security forces arresting a large number of citizens on the streets. Halosh also reported that three citizens were injured during the clashes between security forces and attackers. Following the armed attack on this police station, Mawlawi Abdulhamid expressed his concern about this action and condemned it. The human rights site Halosh reported on July 3 that after public demonstrations on the thirty-eighth protest Friday, 'a large number of Baloch citizens, some of whom are teenagers, were arrested by security forces in the cities of Zahedan, Rask, and Pishin.' Simultaneously, the 'Monitoring Balochistan' channel published videos of 'security forces raiding' the Miftah al-Uloom school in Rask County, one of the Sunni religious schools, where the Islamic Republic's security forces, after entering the Miftah al-Uloom school, 'fired shots and broke the windows of the teachers' office' and subsequently 'arrested two teachers and one student with beatings' and transferred them to an unknown location. In April, Mawlawi Emanullah Saadi, one of the teachers at the Zahedan Dar al-Uloom, was arrested by security forces. According to the 'Sunni Informational Base,' the arrests of Mawlawi Abdulhamid's associates began last year with the aim of exerting pressure on him, and last winter, Mawlawi Abdulmajid Moradzehi, Mufti Reza Rakhshani, and Mawlawi Abdurrauf Rakhshani were arrested by security forces, and months later, there is still no accurate information about the status and fate of these three Sunni scholars. It seems that the new wave of arrests in Zahedan aims to exert maximum pressure on Mawlawi Abdulhamid, reaching his close associates and the first circle of active and influential individuals in the Makki Mosque and Dar al-Uloom. Previously, arrests were mainly among people present at protests, and security forces attempted to create fear among the people to end the protest Fridays. The protest Fridays in Zahedan were held after security forces killed nearly one hundred people on the eighth of Mehr 1401, making this day known as the 'Bloody Friday of Zahedan.' The pressure on Sunni clerics and Mawlawi Abdulhamid's associates has increased following the continuation of protest Fridays in Zahedan. After the revelation of an individual's attempt related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who had a 'plan to assassinate' Abdulhamid Ismailzahi, the Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, the Islamic Republic officials arrested several individuals involved with the Makki Mosque in Zahedan and published his statements against Mawlawi Abdulhamid. Abdolsttar Doshoqi, a Baloch political activist, previously told Voice of America that the broadcast of forced confessions against the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan would lead to 'further disgrace' for the Islamic Republic.