In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
"And whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir authority" [The Holy Quran, 17: 33].
I received the sad news that the criminal and sinful hands of the arrogant powers' mercenaries have shed the blood of the Mujahid Islamic scholar and the committed clergyman, Mr. Mamousta Sheikholeslam - who was a member of the Assembly of Experts - and that this honorable and obliging man has been martyred at the hands of the soldiers of injustice after decades of unequivocal support for justice. During the past few days, some other important clergymen, particularly the interim Friday prayer leader of Sanandaj and two honorable judiciary officials of Kurdistan province, were martyred or wounded before the martyrdom of this honorable man. This series of cruelty and bloodshed in the holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of Quds Day shows that in spite of their claims of religious fervor, these criminals not only desecrate Allah's city but also target what the arrogant powers and some disgraceful governments of the region are determined to attack. From the perspective of these criminal mercenaries and their Pharaoh-like and Korah-like masters, the unpardonable crime of those who were wounded and martyred in Kurdistan was their commitment to the Islamic Republic, their support for Islamic ideals, and their stance on the issue of the holy city of Jerusalem. In the month of Ordibehesht, after the mellifluous sound of Islamic unity resonated more than ever before in Kurdistan province, the camp of arrogance and tyranny was determined to take revenge on the noble and oppressed people of that province. For those brutal enemies, Kurds, Persians, Shias, and Sunnis are not different. Their spiteful and evil hearts would even let them cruelly oppress an old clergyman like the innocent martyr, Mamousta Sheikholeslam. May the curses of God, the Prophet, and believers be upon those bloodthirsty people and the main centers that support and organize them. The dear people of Kurdistan should identify their enemies perceptively, and the security officials of the province should place cracking down on these muharib murderers at the top of their agenda.
I express my condolences to the people of Kurdistan province, especially the bereaved families and also congratulate them on the martyrdom of these people. I also pay homage to the memory of those honorable martyrs, especially the dear martyr Mr. Mamousta Sheikholeslam. I pray to God to bestow His mercy on them. I pray to Allah to bestow the highest positions on them in the hereafter.
Sayyid Ali Khamenei
Shahrivar 26, 1388.