Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a prominent jurist sitting...

Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a prominent jurist sitting on both the Guardians Council and Expediency Council, Iran's two top political oversight bodies, called on Iran's hard-line judiciary to treat "rioters" arrested during 10 nights of anti-regime protests as "enemies of Allah," a charge carrying the death penalty. "I ask the head of the judiciary and public prosecutors across Iran not to treat these people with compassion as they endangered the country's security. Islamic Sharia and our laws are explicit on what we should do with them," the cleric said in a Friday prayers sermon. "The judiciary should deal with these people as Moharebs (those who fight Allah) and not as Mokhalef (those who oppose Allah)," he added, urging the courts to handle the detainees "quickly, meticulously, seriously and ruthlessly". The charge of being a Mohareb carries the death penalty in Iran. His comments followed anti-regime protests in the capital and other Iranian cities, which were marked by fierce clashes between demonstrators and hard-line vigilantes loyal to the clerical regime.