Teheran (AsiaNews) – He does not recognise his wife and child, he suffers from hallucinations and is only able to say “don’t beat me”, “electricity” and “no, no, no”, Ayub Ganji, a young Iranian Sunni religious who has reappeared three weeks on from his mysterious disappearance. His body bears obvious signs of torture.
The thirty year old religious (see photo) was carried off by an unidentified car from outside of Ghaba mosque, which he keads, in the city of Sanandaj, the Kurdish region of Iran. In his Friday sermons he had among other things criticised the Guardian Councils disqualification of numerous candidates in elections for the renewal of the Majlis (the Parliament), due to be held on March 14th. 909 reformists had announced their candidacy, but only 138 were admitted. They will be running for only 31 seats, therefore presenting no real possibility of upsetting the current political order.
Iranian dissident group Rooz reports that on his “reappearance”, the religious was suffering from shock and and loss of weight. He was brought inside of his mosque, but his serious conditions forced a transfer to hospital for care.
A civic activist told Rooz “Ganji has not said anything since his return, and he is incapable of recognizing his close relatives”. “There were signs of two injection spots on his feet. While it is not clear who his captors were or what specifically they subjected this cleric to, Ganji appears to be completely brain-washed. His general health condition is not good and he is planned to be transferred to Tehran for medical examinations”.
Security officials have vehemently denied all involvement in the abduction of the religious, but so far no one has claimed responsibility for the episode.
