Maulawi Abdulhamid Criticizes Conduct of Trial for Bloody Friday of Zahedan Defendants

“Maulawi Abdulhamid” strongly criticized the manner in which the trial of defendants in the Bloody Friday of Zahedan was conducted.

On Friday, October 29, 2022, many worshippers in Zahedan were killed by gunfire from forces of the Islamic Republic system. Following this crime, that Friday became known as the “Bloody Friday of Zahedan” and was accompanied weekly by processions of worshippers protesting the system and its agents. The Friday Prayer Imam of Zahedan also criticized the policies of the Islamic Republic and its agents weekly in his Friday prayer sermons.

Maulawi Abdulhamid, the Sunni Friday Prayer Imam of Zahedan, posted a statement on his personal social media page regarding the manner in which the trial of Bloody Friday of Zahedan defendants was conducted, and informed about the conduct of this trial. He also criticized the failure to summon the commanders and perpetrators from the Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces.

The Friday Prayer Imam of Zahedan wrote following the publication of this statement: “The trial for this crime was held after a long wait with the summoning of only a few law enforcement officers, but the commanders of this crime and the perpetrators from the Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces were never summoned.”

In his Friday prayer sermons on February 10, Maulawi Abdulhamid called for the prosecution of the perpetrators of the Bloody Friday of Zahedan crime and stated that people expect the judge to only hear the truth and not be subjected to pressure from any department or organization. He also criticized the delay in holding the trial and the manner of handling this case. It should be noted that official government sources have not yet published any information regarding this trial and its details.