Release of Young Baloch Cleric from Zahedan Central Prison, One Month After Military Raid on Rask Religious School

A detained Baloch cleric child, who was arrested during a military raid on the Pashamg religious school in Rask, has been released from Zahedan Central Prison after one month. According to the Halosh website, the identity of this detained cleric child is "Saeed Sepahi," a 16-year-old son of Doost Mohammad, residing in the village of Ramin in the Chabahar region. The report states that on the morning of 14 Ordibehesht 1403 (May 3, 2024), military forces "raided the Jame Mosque and the Anwar al-Haramain religious school, breaking windows and doors, disrespecting the Quran and other religious texts, throwing them on the ground, and also raided the home of Molavi Kouhi." In a previous report by Halosh, a local source expressed concern that "there is no information available about the fate of Saeed Sepahi," stating that he has committed no crime and "has two years left to complete his religious studies." Previously, the Quds Force's southeast headquarters had announced in a statement that several members and supporters of the armed group "Jaysh al-Adl," which "played a role in the operations of this group on 24 Azar 1402 (December 15, 2023) and 16 Farvardin this year (April 5, 2024)," were arrested in the village of Pashamg. However, the "Jaysh al-Adl" organization, in a statement, rejected the claims of the IRGC headquarters regarding the arrest of its members, calling it a lie and a conspiracy aimed at executing security programs against Sunni religious schools by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Previously, the Baloch Activists Campaign announced on Saturday, 15 Ordibehesht, that at least 8 students from the Anwar al-Haramain religious school in the village of Pashamg in the Jask county were arrested during the military raid. According to the report, government agents also confiscated the mobile phones of the family of Molavi Fazl-ur-Rahman Kouhi, the director of this religious school and the Sunni Imam of Pashamg. Reports indicate that during the attack by the "Jaysh al-Adl" group on the IRGC command center in Rask and a police station in Chabahar in Farvardin this year, several forces from both sides of the conflict, including at least 11 border guards, police, IRGC, and Basij members, were killed. The group "Jundallah" and all its new names, including "Jaysh al-Adl," are listed as terrorist organizations by the United States. The Anwar al-Haramain religious school condemned the "brazen operations of security forces" in a statement, addressing the officials of the Islamic Republic: "If you had any suspicion about one of the students, the suspected individual would have been handed over to you in coordination with the school authorities. Those with clean accounts have nothing to fear from calculations!" The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its latest report, recommended that the U.S. government classify the Iranian government as a "country of particular concern" due to its "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" violations of religious freedoms. The UN fact-finding committee also reported on 18 Esfand 1402 (March 8, 2024) that the Iranian government "targets ethnic minorities and Sunni Muslim minorities, imposing restrictions on their cultural and political activities through arbitrary arrests and vague security charges."