Report: Member of Iran minority sets self on fire

AP: An Iranian semi-official news agency is reporting that a member of a small religious minority set himself on fire next to the country’s parliament building. ISNA’s late Saturday report says the man, a member of the Ahl Al-Haq, suddenly poured a bottle of fuel on his body and lit it. It said he was taken to hospital.

The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian semi-official news agency is reporting that a member of a small religious minority set himself on fire next to the country’s parliament building.

ISNA’s late Saturday report says the man, a member of the Ahl Al-Haq, suddenly poured a bottle of fuel on his body and lit it. It said he was taken to hospital.

Iranian opposition websites have reported two other such self-immolations since June by Ahl Al-Haq adherents following the alleged abuse of a group member in prison. Those reports couldn’t be independently verified.

Iran recognizes some non-Muslim minorities such as Zoroastrians, but others like the Baha’i complain of exclusion from state jobs, vilification in the media and other pressures.

The Ahl Al-Haq faith is found mostly among ethnic Kurds in both western Iran and Iraq.