I am appalled at the reports of the murder of the Iraqi Shia leader, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, and his two sons on 19 February in Najaf in southern Iraq.
According to these reports the ayatollah had recently publicly challenged the Iraqi regime's continuing imprisonment of Shia clergy. His demand that they be released apparently attracted considerable public support. There have also been reports that there were demonstrations during his funeral which were met by severe restrictions by the Iraqi security forces, reportedly resulting in still further deaths.
This is not the first murder of a Shia clergyman in such circumstances. In the past twelve months two other prominent ayatollahs were killed in the same area and there have been attacks on two others.