The Special Clerical Court of Hamedan, in western Iran, has sentenced Kurdish Sunni cleric Seyyed Seyfollah Hosseini to a total of 17 years in prison, 74 lashes, and two years of living in exile in Ardabil, in north-western Iran, over charges that include “inciting people to disrupt the security of the country”.
The court has also stripped Hosseini of his clerical status, Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
Hosseini is the imam of the Khatam-al Anbiya Mosque and a member of the board of directors of the Kurdistan Quran School in Javanrud, Kermanshah province.
The Telegram channel of the Kurdistan Quran School said the cleric was sentenced to 17 years in jail as follows: six years for his membership in the religious movement of the Kurdistan Quran School, six years for “inciting people to disrupt the security of the country”, two years and a half for “insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, 15 months in prison and 74 lashes for “disrupting public order” and 15 months in jail for “propaganda against the state”.
Hosseini was violently arrested after security forces raided his home in Javanrud on 13 December. The officers also broke his wife’s hand at the time of arrest, KHRN has learned.
The Kurdish cleric has been in solitary confinement in Hamedan prison since his arrest, said the Kurdistan Quran School.
