Irans Fars news agency said on Thursday that Iranians gathered in front of Azerbaijans Consulate in the provincial capitalcity of Tabriz to denounce Bakus intensified wave of arrests and the killing of Shias in Nardaran district, north of the Azericapital.
The protesters, who were marking the demiseof the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), called on Azerbaijans government to stop its anti-Islamicmoves and immediately release those arrested in Nardaran over the past days.
The demonstrators also urged the Iranian government and parliament to use legal and diplomatic channels to have pressure alleviatedon the Shias in Azerbaijan.
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This December 10, 2015 photo released by Irans ISNA agency shows police forces standing in front of Azerbaijan's Consulate in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz where a demonstration was held in protest at an intensified crackdown on Shia Muslims in the Republic of Azerbaijan.[/caption]Iranian lawmakers and other officials have censured Baku in recent days for the killing and arrest of Shias during religious ceremonies.
Azerbaijanbegan a fresh wave of attacks on the majority Shias on November 26 when security forces killed four members of the Movement for Muslim Unity (MMU) during a raid in the village of Nardaran. At least 14 people were nabbed in the raid, including the MMU leader Tale Bagirzade, who is also known as Sheikh Bagirov.
The MMU enjoys widespreadpublic support as attested by the participation of thousands in aprotest called by the movementnear Baku against the detention of another leader Elchin Gasymov earlier this month. Police briefly arrested some members of the group.
In a later attack in Nardaranon December 3, policemen shot and killed five Shia Muslims and arrested 32 others.
Azerbaijan is a majority Shia state of more than nine million people, with Shias accounting for 85 percent of the population. The secular government of Aliyev suppressed a Shia-dominated popular uprising in 2010 amid international outcry over his heavy-handed crackdown.?
By Press TV
