AUCKLAND, New Zealand: New Zealand-based International Shia Cultural and Human Rights Organization (ISCHRO) demands that the Jordanian government release Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Ali Al-Tabataba'i Al-Hassani immediately and without condition and to compensate him for any harm to his health and damages that might have occurred due to his detention.

Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i is a well-known scholar who has completed the highest degree of Islamic theological studies (technically labeled Ijtihad). He is the author of numerous books and has studied under numerous prominent Shiite scholars such as Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu Al-Qasim Al-Khu’i, Grand Ayatollah Abd Al-Ala Al-Sabzwari and Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Shirazi.

An Iraqi by birth, Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i settled in the United Kingdom after Iraq’s Bathist regime issued a death warrant ordering his execution. In the United Kingdom, Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i was responsible for establishing several religious and charitable organizations as well as being occupied with his scholarly work.

Recently, Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i made a pilgrimage to the various different religious sites in Iraq. When returning to the United Kingdom he traveled to Jordan and due to his prominence was invited to give lectures at a religious ceremony. In his talk, Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i encouraged the Jordanian Shiite community to build Mosques and Husainiahs (religious centres) which was allegedly the reason that led to his detention by the Jordanian security forces.

The detention of a Shiite Grand Scholar by the Jordanian government is a blatant disregard for the world Shiites and Shiite scholarship and a lack of respect towards non-Jordanian nationals. It is important to point out that Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i is a resident of the United Kingdom and his detention in Jordan is illegal.

Furthermore, Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i currently suffers from a severe heart condition that had led to him being hospitalised in London on several occasions in the past. The Jordanian government has refused the family of Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'i access while in detention and has not given any information regarding his health to them.

The International Shia Cultural and Human Rights Organization is concerned about the health and illegal detention of Ayatollah Al-Tabataba'I and calls on the Jordanian government to respect Shiite scholars and release the Ayatollah.

The Jordanian government must also respect the freedom and rights of the minority Shiite population and not prevent them from establishing religious gatherings and constructing religious centres.