Iranians slam Azerbaijan treatment of mourners

Iranian demonstrators gathered outside the Azerbaijan consulate in northwest Iran to protest the assault and sentencing of mourners attending the ceremonies held to mark the death anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Protesters in the city of Tabriz on Tuesday gathered outside the consulate and chanted slogans against Israel and the United States to express their anger at the policies adopted by the Azeri government.

“It is regretful that Shias are treated like minorities in the world’s second largest Shia country (Azerbaijan),” Jamshid Jamshidi, a university professor said in a statement.

He added that such an attitude indicates that Baku serves the interests of the US and Israel and follows the “anti-religion moves of the Communists.”

The statement condemned what it called the Azeri regime’s attacks on mosques and Muslim associations while at the same time propagating Wahhabism, Baha’ism, demonology and debauchery in Azeri media.

The statement also accused the Azeri government of trying to impede the spread of Islam and Shiaism through tilting the population balance of the region.

The Azeri police beat people attending the mourning ceremonies of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his grandson Imam Hassan (PBUH) in different cities across Azerbaijan including Baku. At least ten people were severely wounded in Saturday’s clashes and twenty others were arrested.

A court in Baku has sentenced four of the detainees to two months in jail for engaging in clashes with the police.

Human rights activists and Islamic associations in Azerbaijan condemned the attack on mourners, saying they had the right to openly practice their religion.

More than 90 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is Muslim.