Iran Sunni Cleric Urges Tehran To Release Teenagers, Stop Executions

Iran’s most prominent Sunni cleric has again used his Friday sermon to urge the country’s Shia leadership to show leniency toward the thousands of protesters who have been detained and prosecuted since nationwide protests kicked off more than 13 weeks ago.

"Most of these detainees are young teenagers. My advice is not to be hard on them and release them," said Molavi Abdolhamid, the Friday prayer leader in the eastern city of Zahedan.

"According to the verses of the Quran, if someone has not killed a human being, they should not be executed. Even if you call them Mohareb (eds: enemy of God), you should not kill them."

Last week, Abdolhamid said it was wrong to charge protesters with capital offenses such as “waging war against God” (Moharebeh).

After Friday prayers, hundreds of people took to the streets of Zahedan and other cities across Sistan and Baluchestan, chanting slogans against the clerical regime.

The Iranian security forces have cracked down hard on the wave of protests sparked by the September 16 death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. At least 458 people have been killed, including 63 children, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group says. At least 18,000 people have reportedly been arrested.

According to information gathered by IranWire, at least 28 people involved in the demonstrations have been handed capital punishment. Iran carried out the first execution on December 8, followed by a second one four days later, triggering international condemnation.

The demonstrations and state clampdown have been particularly intense in the country’s western Kurdish areas and Sistan and Baluchistan. The province is home to a Sunni Baluch minority.