Support from a Group of 'Religious Reformists' for Molavi Abdolhamid

A group of 'religious reformists in Iran' issued a statement supporting Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan. In their statement, they wrote: 'Iranian border residents have shown extensive resistance against the ruling tyranny in the ongoing nationwide movement, and Sunni religious scholars from every tribe and ethnicity have emerged as symbols of resistance and perseverance in the Mahsa movement.' The statement thanked Sunni clerics for their solidarity with the protesting people of Iran and called on Iranians inside and outside the country to support Molavi Abdolhamid in the fight for 'freedom, rule of law, national development, public welfare, social justice, and the elimination of discrimination' and other demands of the protesters in Iran. Among the signatories of this statement are Hassan Youssefi Eshkouri, Hashem Aghajeri, Mohammad Javad Akbarin, and Reza Alijani. On Wednesday, July 7, state media released a video of a forced confession from a Sunni citizen who had been arrested on June 17 by the security forces of Maki Mosque in Zahedan. In this video, the Sunni citizen claimed that after his arrest, he was pressured and harassed by those around Molavi Abdolhamid and even by him. However, Molavi Abdolhamid's office stated that the individual, after being identified by the security officials of Maki Mosque, made contradictory statements and eventually claimed that he had come to Dar al-Uloom and Maki Mosque in Zahedan to spy and identify individuals around Molavi Abdolhamid and was supposed to receive some poison from a person, smear it on his hands, and then go to Molavi Abdolhamid to shake hands with him and thus poison him in a biological assassination. Since the beginning of the protests in Iran, Zahedan, centered around Maki Mosque and Molavi Abdolhamid, has been a scene of protests against the Islamic Republic every Friday without interruption. According to documents obtained by hacking state media, military and police commanders had called for the arrest of Molavi Abdolhamid last winter, but Ali Khamenei demanded that this Sunni religious figure from Sistan and Baluchestan be 'discredited.' The project to discredit Molavi Abdolhamid continues; this time, the broadcast of forced confessions. Abdul Sattar Doshoqi stated that the broadcast of forced confessions against Molavi Abdolhamid further discredits the Islamic Republic. Internet disruptions and the establishment of a security atmosphere in Zahedan coincided with the holding of a silent march. Two different demands from the judiciary; one in Tehran, one from Zahedan. Sistan and Baluchestan is in crisis; water and electricity outages and long lines for chicken alongside drought. The response from Molavi Abdolhamid's office to the accusations from state media: it is pure falsehood. Two people were injured in clashes between people and police in the city of Sarbaz. The state news agency's reaction to the recent arrests in Zahedan: 'Decisive action' against those spreading 'rumors' aimed at 'chaos.'