Iranian authorities prosecuted four people in connection with the attacks at Ghoba Mosque in Shiraz.
Ghoba Mosque, where the reformist source of emulation, Ayatollah Dastgheib, who has been an outspoken supporter of the opposition in the election protests of the past year and a half, gives sermons, has been attacked several times in the past year by pro-government forces.
The special court for the clergy has prosecuted Mohammad Bagher Valadan, as the leader of the attackers, and sentenced him to five months in prison, three years of exile from Fars Province and 74 lashes.
On the other hand, the general court has accused three of Ayatollah Dastgheib supporters in connection with the attacks and sentenced them to two years in prison, four years exile and 10 years ban from cultural activities.
The opposition claims these individuals had been forced to defend the mosque during the attacks.
Ayatollah Dastgheib, an outspoken supporter of MirHosein Mousavi, met with the family of prominent detained reformist, Mostafa Tajzadeh yesterday and assured them that “none of Iran’s sources of emulation approve of the current situation because it is against the Quran, the Islamic traditions and the constitution.”
In the past year and a half, the government has cracked down on challengers of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in the 2009 presidential elections, arresting them and issuing them heavy prison terms.
Mostafa Tajzadeh, an executive member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, has been incarcerated in Evin Prison accused of endangering national security, a charge that the establishment is pressing against scores of recent political prisoners.
Ayatollah Dastgheib maintained that in the attacks at Goba Mosque, some of the mosque organizers put up a legitimate defence and he criticized the courts for releasing the attackers while sentencing those who rose in the defence of the mosque.
