The supreme religious authority has renewed in a statement, its call to maintain the peaceful nature of the protests in Iraq, and to security forces for avoiding excessive force against protesters.
"Maintaining the peaceful nature of the protests in all their forms is of paramount importance," said the statement read by the representative of the Supreme Religious Authority, Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai in the Friday’s prayer sermon held at the holy shrine of Imam Hussein "pbuh" on November 8, 2019, adding "It is the responsibility of the security forces to avoid the use of violence - especially excessive violence - in dealing with peaceful protesters, as it is not justified act and will lead to serious consequences".
"It was noted that most of the participants in the protests are maintaining their peacefulness and avoiding contact with security forces, government facilities and private property, which requires guiding the few non-peaceful protestors to stop their attacks in order to keep the protests flowing peacefully and accident-free," al-Karbalai said.
He added that "Peaceful protesting is the right for every adult Iraqi citizen, so they can express their opinions and demand their rights, whether they like to do so or don’t, and no-one is allowed to impose their view on others, as the amount of participation in the protests must not be a reason for controversy among citizens, and everyone is required to respect each another’s opinion and excuse them for their choice.
