Important: Click here to read this clarification about some of our previous statements regarding 'Moharabeh'.
Sheikh Hashem Hossein Panahi, a Sunni preacher and activist, was summoned to court and arrested.
According to reports, Sheikh Hashem was summoned to the Tehran Special clerical court on December 2, 2013. He was detained and transferred to ward 325 of Evin prison, Tehran.
Sheikh Hashem is a teacher at the Imam Bukhari Madrassah in Sanandaj.
He is also a member of the office of Sheikh Hasan Amini, the Sunni Shariah judge and Mufti of the Kurdistan province of Iran. Sheikh Hashem is well known for his vocal support for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.
He had been harassed and arrested previously due to his numerous speeches and religious activism. He was detained for a month last year after being arrested by Intelligence agents on September 12, 2012.
He had also been summoned to the Special Clerical court this year on September 16, 2013, and was sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence and given thirty lashes.
The special Clerical court is under the direct control of the Supreme Leader, Khamenei, and functions independently of the regular judicial framework.
In 2011, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that in Iran, "Sunni Muslim leaders regularly are intimidated and harassed by intelligence and security services and report widespread official discrimination."
Sheikh Hashem Hossein Panahi, a Sunni preacher and activist, was summoned to court and arrested.
According to reports, Sheikh Hashem was summoned to the Tehran Special clerical court on December 2, 2013. He was detained and transferred to ward 325 of Evin prison, Tehran.
Sheikh Hashem is a teacher at the Imam Bukhari Madrassah in Sanandaj.
He is also a member of the office of Sheikh Hasan Amini, the Sunni Shariah judge and Mufti of the Kurdistan province of Iran. Sheikh Hashem is well known for his vocal support for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.
He had been harassed and arrested previously due to his numerous speeches and religious activism. He was detained for a month last year after being arrested by Intelligence agents on September 12, 2012.
He had also been summoned to the Special Clerical court this year on September 16, 2013, and was sentenced to a six-month suspended sentence and given thirty lashes.
The special Clerical court is under the direct control of the Supreme Leader, Khamenei, and functions independently of the regular judicial framework.
In 2011, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that in Iran, "Sunni Muslim leaders regularly are intimidated and harassed by intelligence and security services and report widespread official discrimination."