Supreme Court Strikes Out Sunnis' Complaint Against Rouhani

Iran's Supreme Court has thrown out an attempt at group litigation by Sunni Muslims against President Hassan Rouhani.

According to Etemad newspaper, the Sunnis had prepared a 33-page complaint against the premier and registered it in the Supreme Court on April 28, 2021.

In it, they said Rouhani had broken his election manifesto promises to ensure the rights of minority religious groups were upheld, as well as those of Iran’s ethnic and linguistic minorities.

Abdollah Sohrabi, a former MP for Marivan, was one of the organizers. He told Iranian media: “The Court cited Article 40 of its by-law, which makes the investigation of [legal] violations by presidents conditional upon reasons and evidence being submitted.

“This court ruled out our complaint against the president because of a ‘lack of evidence’ and removed it from the agenda."

Some time ago the Rouhani administration drew up a 10-article declaration on the rights of ethnic, religious and sectarian groups in Iran.

But the group alleged that none of the points it contained had been implemented, also saying that overt securitization of minority groups in Iran continued apace.

Rouhani’s government has won a significant number of votes in Sunni-majority provinces in the past. But recently Iran’s Sunni leaders have spoken out about their sense of disillusionment with the results.

Molavi Abdolhamid Esmaeil Zehi, the Sunni Friday imam for Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchistan province, recently launched a tirade against “discrimination” against Sunnis in Iran, saying the Islamic Republic should not expect many Sunnis to participate in the upcoming presidential vote.

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