Protests against the arrest of the Rask Friday Mass leader’s son in Sistan-Baluchistan have left at least one protester dead and many injured, after the city’s military and security forces opened fire on the crowd.
Rahim Badoui, a Baluchi political activist, tells Zamaneh that when Mowlavi Abdolghafar Naghshbandi, a senior Sunni figure, was arrested at his school, many people were offended by the move and organized a gathering in front of the governor’s office.
Protesters then begin a march, he said, which was met by gunshots from security police, resulting in the death of Jahan Mohammad Dehghani. Many protesters were reportedly injured and many others arrested.
A Sunni website reports that the protests were a response to the arrest of several Sunni activists in recent months. According to this report, at least 13 activists have been arrested in Sistan-Baluchistan since last January’s assassination of the Rask Friday Mass Leader.
Following the assassination, the Intelligence Ministry announced that it had arrested 15 alleged conspirators involved in the crime.
While Iran is predominantly Shiite, Sunni Muslims constitute a large part of Iran’s population and live in 14 of the country’s provinces. It’s estimated that one million Sunnis live in Tehran.
