Loghman Amini, the Friday prayer leader of the Chahar Yar-e Nabi mosque and a religious studies teacher in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, was arrested today following a summons to the Special Clerical Court in Hamadan and taken to an undisclosed location.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that Amini received an official notice in recent days ordering him to appear before the Special Clerical Court.
This is not the first time the prominent cleric has faced arrest. He was previously detained by security forces on 30 January 2023 on the road from Sanandaj to Marivan, Kurdistan Province, in the midst of the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom uprising.
He was provisionally released on bail on 22 February of that year, pending trial.
Subsequently, the Special Clerical Court in Hamadan handed down a sentence of 11 years in prison, two years of exile to Ardabil, Ardabil Province, permanent removal of clerical status, and a lifelong ban on delivering sermons.
The court found him guilty of charges including “propaganda against the state”, “inciting unrest,” and “possession of a handgun”.
