Supreme Religious Authority: We strongly condemn the use of violence against demonstrators and the dispersal of peaceful gatherings with the use of force.

The representative of the supreme religious authority; Sheikh Abd al-Mahdi al-Karbala'i read during the sermon of the Friday prayer of the 5th Jumada Ula 1441 AH corresponding to January 31, 2020, held at the holy shrine of Imam al-Hussayn (peace be upon him) the text received from the office of the supreme religious authority in Najaf; his eminence Sayed al-Sistani in Najaf, in which he stated:

“Four months have passed since the start of the popular movement calling for reform, and freeing the country from the clutches of corruption and failure that afflicted the various state institutions and departments, and during this period a lot of innocent blood was shed and thousands of citizens were wounded and injured, and there are still some clashes, here and there, that result in more Innocent victims.

The religious authority, as it once again confirms its condemnation of the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators, the assassinations and kidnappings of some of them, and its categorical refusal to attempt to break up peaceful assemblies and sit-ins using violence and force, it at the same time rejects what some people are doing to attack the security forces and government agencies, as well as the acts of sabotage and threats against some educational and service institutions, and all that violates the security of citizens and harms their interests. And it warns that these unjustified actions will not become a substitute for the mass public presence to pressure for the sake of a response to the reformist demands, on the contrary, it leads to a decline in solidarity with the protest movement and its participants.”