Iranian clerics, officials slam Shaykh Salman’s detention

Rasa – Iranian clerics, scholars and political figures have condemned detention of Shaykh Ali Salman, prominent leader of the Bahrain’s main opposition bloc, the al-Wefaq Party.

News ID: 1955

Date: 03 January 2015 - 18:44

Iranian cleric Ayatollah Hoseyn Nouri-Hamadani has described the detention of Shaykh Ali Salman as a clear violation of human rights.

Calling for his immediate release as well as other innocent people in custody in Bahrain, Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani urged international bodies to break their silence and defend the rights of the oppressed Bahraini nation.

A faculty member of Islamic Research Institute for Culture and Thought Ayatollah Bahram Dalir announced that the immediate consequence of Shaykh Ali Salman detention was to awaken other nations and provoke massive protests all over the world, adding that his detention was a huge mistake.

The chair of the council of the Islamic seminaries of Tehran Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Rashad also expressed regret over Shaykh Salman’s detention and said, “such action is against Islamic and international principles and is a breach of the rights of Bahraini citizens.” He urged Bahraini government to respect the peaceful protests by clerics, scholars and intellectuals.

Earlier on Thursday, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem-Shirazi also called for freedom of Shaykh Salman. In his statement on Thursday, Makarem-Shirazi demanded Bahrain rulers to avoid complicating the political situation in the country. The cleric asked Bahraini governemt to respect its nation’s rights.

On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif also called for immediate release of Bahrain’s cleric leader Shaykh Ali Salman.

“The reaction by the international bodies and religious authorities indicates the highly-respected character of Shaykh Salman and his moderate behaviour,” Zarif emphasized.

Calling Shaykh Salman’s detention a ‘thoughtless’ action, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hoseyn Amir-Abdollahian also slammed Shaykh Salman’s detention and warned about the security consequences of arrests and crackdowns in Bahrain.

Earlier Wednesday, in a weekly press conference, Iran’s FM Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham also expressed concern over Shaykh Salman’s detention by Bahraini regime.

She criticized Al-Khalifah regime’s security strategies in solving internal issues and urged the government to show respect to the rights of citizens and give up its wrong approach to avoid further complicating the situation.

On Sunday, Bahraini authorities reportedly detained Shaykh Ali Salman, Secretary General of Bahrain’s main opposition bloc al-Wefaq Society upon his arrival at the Justice Department’s criminal investigations building in al-Adliyah district in Manama. He was taken into custody by the country’s prosecutor general.

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