Sunni religious leader of Zahedan, Mowlavi Abdolhamid
Reports say Sunni religious leader of Zahedan, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, has been under pressure by Iranian security to end his weekly protests and critical sermons on Fridays.
Halvash website that covers Baluchestan events reported Thursday that "Mowlavi Abdolhamid has rejected the requests by the security organizations".
Since September during ongoing protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, MowlaviAbdolhamid has made fiery speeches against the heavy crackdown and killing of protesters, calling government actions "felony".
He has also called for holding a referendum in Iran with the presence of international observers.
The Sunni city of Zahedan in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province has been witnessing protests against repressions and discriminations in the province following mass Friday prayers during the past thirteen weeks.
According to Halvash, Thursday evening a large number of military forces and plainclothes agents have been stationed in the schools of Zahedan to repress any protests on Friday January 6.
Meanwhile, other reports say during the past four days, at least 113 Baluch citizens and children have been arrested in different regions of Zahedan by security agencies.