Disruption in Tehran's Friday prayers

An Iranian dissident by the name of Kheirollah Mirachi, chanted slogans against the leaders of the clerical regime and disrupted the heavily guarded Friday prayers ceremony, reports from Iran say. Chanting "death to Khamenei," he shouted: "People are starving to death! How can you spend the people's money on this [OIC] conference?"

The regime's Revolutionary Guards and Intelligence Ministry agents jumped on Mr. Mirachi, beat him up, gagged and quickly took him away. A number of foreign delegations taking part in the Islamic Conference summit and a number of reporters were present at the site. Many onlookers protested the Guards' treatment of Mr. Mirachi.

He is presently held at the Intelligence Ministry headquarters in west Tehran where he is being interrogated under torture. The regime's agents are trying to identify and arrest his "accomplices."

This incident occurred while the regime has taken enormous security measures on the eve of the Islamic Conference summit in Tehran and put the Guards Corps in charge of maintaining security in the capital. Tehran is presently under a de facto curfew.

After today's incident, the regime's leaders have become gravely concerned about the security of the Islamic Conference summit. The Supreme National Security Council held an urgent meeting this evening to discuss the situation.

Last week, Montazeri, KhomeiniÕs former successor, wrote to Khatami: "While you are unable to run the country... and maintain security, why are you going to hold the summit of Islamic heads of state? Have you thought about how you are going to offer protection to their leaders in this chaotic situation? How are you going to guarantee their security?"

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 5, 1997

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