An outspoken young cleric and his older politician brother who had mysteriously disappeared on Wednesday, September 7, in Iran have resurfaced on social media saying they were in hiding, fearing for their lives.
The elder brother, Ruhollah Sadrosadati, is a member of the powerful all-clergy Assembly of Experts (AE), which is responsible for supervising the performance of the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and electing a successor if he becomes incapacitated or dies.
The younger brother, Mehdi Sadrosadati is well-known as a whistleblower on social media, exposing alleged corruption among Iran’s political and ruling elte.
All three brothers are black-turbaned clergies; i.e., presumed to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
The representative of the southern province of Hormozgan province to the AE, Sadrosadati, disclosed on his brother's Telegram channel that since they were threatened by unnamed individuals in his constituency, they went into hiding out of fear for their lives.
Sadrosadati went even further by explicitly accusing the agents of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)Intelligence Organization of threatening him with arrest and imprisonment in the past.
The social media posts still do not reveal where the brothers are now and if the posts are being published by them or other persons who might have their passwords.
SEE ALSO: A Young Cleric Exposing Corruption In Iran Disappears Along With His Brothers
The drama started early Wednesday morning when Ruhollah Sadrosadati along with two of his brothers and a companion disappeared on the way to Tehran to board a flight to Bandar Abbas, the capital city of his constituency, Hormozgan, on the Persian Gulf.
Without going into the details, the youngest member of the AE also reiterated that he intended to fly to Bandar Abbas to look into "some affairs," but changed his mind since "his life was threatened."
Therefore, Sadrosadati wrote on Telegram; we turned off our cellphones to cover our tracks.
However, he has stopped short of saying who was behind the menace or why he was threatened.
Meanwhile, he maintained that he had been threatened in the past for his efforts as a member of the AE and apparently because of probing “problems”.
Still avoiding naming anyone, Sadrosadati asserted that "through the office of the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the country's universities, and the caretaker of Jamkaran mosque, in the city of Qom, these individuals spread rumors, calling him "anti-Islamic Revolution".
Not only they have threatened my life, but also told my wife that they would kill me, Sadrosadati has claimed, saying it is a sign of abnormality when they threaten the life of an AE emeber.
According to Sadrosadati, the head of the IRGC's Intelligence Protection Organization in the city of Qom has repeatedly threatened him with arrest, attacking his residence, and harassing his family.
He also claimed he has recordings of the threats, ready to disclose them.
In the meantime, Sadrosadati lamented that he had sent numerous letters to Khamenei calling for justice, but his correspondences were never answered.
I even used intermediaries to relay my concerns to Khamenei, Sadrosadati wrote, adding that they also failed in their mission.
The 36-year-old Ruhollah Sadrosadati beat the incumbent member of the AE and representative of Khamenei in Hormozgan, Gholam Ali Naeim Abadi, in last elections, on February 2016.