Memorial services for the late grand ayatollah Montazeri have increasingly being held in most major cities of Iran that includes Qom, Tehran, Isfahan, and Najafabad (his homeown). Amid tight official security measures, thousands of Sunni students in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, and Kurdistan held memorial services on campuses for the Shiite grand ayatollah who passed away last week and publicly displayed their respects for the cleric, some lighting candles in his honor. Reports reaching Rooz Online speak of hundreds of Sunni students from Sistan and Baluchistan University in the provincial capital of Zahedan, held a peaceful vigil in honor of the late ayatollah amid the tight security measures and despite the threats made by university officials to dissuade students from publicly expressing their respects for the cleric. At this ceremony, Baluchi students began their ceremony with words from the Quran and continued it by reading prayers for the deceased. Then, all the students lit candles in front of the deceased cleric. Then a number of student activists spoke of the struggles that ayatollah Montazeri pursued and his contributions and role in the rightful struggle of religious and ethnic minorities for their rights.

In a short interview, one of the student activists told Rooz, “The gathering was held in complete civil manner while university officials and members of the security office had threatened students that they would be barred for a few semesters if they held any memorial for the grand ayatollah.” This source added that even though the number of plain-clothes agents and Basijis grew considerably after the ceremony began, there were absolutely no clashes at the event. But these agents did prevent students from holding a march inside the campus. There were also a number of Basijis who filmed the whole event and took photographs of the participants.

At the end of the event, students from Baluchistan University read out a statement which condemned government measures to prevent memorial services for the grand ayatollah and warned that should officials embark on any judicial, security or administrative disciplinary measures against students that participated in ayatollah Montazeri’s mourning events, they would shut down the classes of the school.

Memorial services that have been held across Iran’s universities last week to honor the life and role of ayatollah Montazeri despite threats and tight security measures were also extended to Sanandaj University, the provincial capital of Kurdistan, and ended without any violence  or intervention from government forces. And just like Baluchi Sunni students, hundreds of Sunni Sanandaji students held marches and ceremonies in honor of ayatollah Montazeri and eventually held candle vigils in front of a portrait of the late senior cleric.

This ceremony began as a silent march of some seven hundred Sanandaji students who demonstrated their respects for this Shiite grand ayatollah which they carried out across the main gate of Sanandaj University, which was followed by a the candle vigil and then condolence messages to the clerics relatives and family members.

The condolence message contained references to the bravery of ayatollah Montazeri in expressing his religious and learned views despite the autocratic system that opposed him, and honored is spiritual and inspirational role. The statements that were read also lauded Montazeri’s efforts in his struggle for the rights of religious and ethnic minorities despite being a Shiite cleric, calling his death a tragedy for the whole country.