Summoning of Two Sunni Imams from Sardasht Villages to the Urmia Revolutionary Court

On Wednesday, July 4, the Special Clergy Court in Urmia summoned two Sunni Friday prayer leaders from the villages of Sardasht. According to the Kurdpa website, Salam Mahmoudian, the Sunni Imam in the village of 'Biyuran Salafi', and Hassan Khazari, the Sunni Imam in the village of 'Biyuran Aliya', have been summoned to the Special Clergy Court multiple times. The report states that they have been summoned to security agencies in Sardasht several times due to their support for the nationwide protests of 'Women, Life, Freedom' in 2022 and have faced security pressures. Reports in recent years indicate that the Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on Sunni religious figures following the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also recently recommended to the U.S. government that Iran be designated as a 'country of particular concern' due to its 'systematic, ongoing, and egregious' violations of religious freedoms. Additionally, reports indicate that five citizens from Oshnaviyeh in West Azerbaijan province have also been arrested in recent days. The Kurdpa website listed the names of the detained citizens as Salim Zolqarnain, Saber Zolqarnain, Idris Karsaz, Mohammad Rasoulpour, and Kamal Aghabi. No information has been released regarding the charges or the location of these individuals. Previously, the Iran Human Rights Campaign criticized the 'track record of political-religious repression by the Islamic Republic', emphasizing that the Iranian government has 'repeatedly used false religious accusations, such as corruption on earth or rebellion, to suppress opponents and religious figures in minority areas.' The increased pressure from security forces on Sunni religious figures aims to encourage people to participate in government elections following Mowlavi Abdolhamid's protests against the elections; four other Sunni clerics were arrested in Urmia, and the Special Clergy Court dismissed a Sunni cleric from his Friday prayer leadership. The death sentence of Mohammad Khodrnejad, a Sunni Kurdish scholar, was commuted to imprisonment.