13 followers of dissident cleric arrested in Shiraz

Ayatollah Dastgheib

Iranian authorities ratchet up pressure on the opposition in Shiraz arresting 13 members of Abou-Saleh Seminary, an organization supervised by dissident senior cleric, Ayatollah Dastgheib.

Sobh-e Omid Website in Shiraz reports that these individuals were arrested some days after conflicts between pro-government forces and worshippers at Ayatollah Dastgheib’s Ghoba Mosque.

The names and charges of the detainees have not been announced yet.

On Friday, September 3, the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, Iran customarily observes Qods Day as a day of solidarity with the people of Palestine. This year, pro-government plain clothes forces attacked worshippers at Ghoba Mosque causing a number of injuries.

The attack was preceded with a petition circulated by pro-government forces calling for the prosecution of Ayatollah Dastgheib.

Ayatollah Dastgheib has supported the disputing candidates of the 2009 presidential elections, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and repeatedly condemned government violence against election protesters in the past year.

The conservative faction of the clergy has however announced that the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has recommended “tolerance with respect to Ayatollah Dastgheib.”