Iran detains son of senior religious leader

A son of Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran’s top Sunni cleric in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, has been detained after being summoned to a clerical court in Mashhad and allegedly pressured to issue a public statement condemning recent unrest, according to the Baluch rights group Haalvsh.

Haalvsh reported on February 16 that Mohammad Tayyeb Esmailzehi was called to appear before the Special Clerical Court in Mashhad earlier this month. According to the group’s Telegram channel, Esmailzehi was summoned by phone and appeared in court on February 13, Iran International reports. 

Sources cited by Haalvsh said the judge in the case threatened and pressured Mohammad Tayyeb Esmailzehi a day before his detention, telling him to post a statement on his personal Instagram account condemning the burning of mosques and Qurans, as well as the killing of government security forces during the unrest in January.

Esmailzehi was reportedly questioned for several hours over two consecutive days. He was detained on February 16 after the interrogation sessions concluded and transferred to an undisclosed location, the group said.

By Sabina Mammadli