Iranian Sunni Religious Leader Subjected To Torture In Detention

The Friday Prayer Imam of Rask, in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province, has been tortured by intelligence agents during his detention, the family has charged.

The son of Mowlavi Fat’hi Mohammad Naqshbandi made a revelation on Saturday, asserting that his elderly father had endured torture involving the use of an "electroshock weapon" and a hot iron at the Zahedan Intelligence detention center.

Abdolqaffar Naqshbandi, in a post on the X social network, lamented, "I received news about a month after my elderly father's detention that he is once again being subjected to physical and psychological torture in Zahedan, the very same place where both he and I endured four years of torment."

The Sistan-Baluchistan Judiciary, August 20th, officially announced the arrest of Mowlavi Naqshbandi on charges that included "disrupting public opinion through false speeches, slander, and defamation against the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime, engaging in activities against national security, and engaging in the unlawful occupation of national lands."

Simultaneously, the Baluchestan news website, Halvash, reported that Naqshbandi had been detained under circumstances involving "humiliation and insult."

In recent months, the situation in Sistan-Baluchestan has markedly deteriorated, with cities in the region experiencing heightened tension, especially on Fridays when residents voice their grievances against the regime through protests.

There have been numerous reports of attacks targeting military and government forces within the province in the months following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in custody last year, which triggered nationwide protests.