Scores arrested in Iraq crackdown on al-Sadr-linked group accused of inciting discord

Shafaq News / Dozens of suspects linked to a group called "the owners of the cause" have been arrested by Iraqi authorities on Friday on charges of inciting discord, according to the judiciary.

In a statement, the judiciary said that "the investigative court in al-Karkh has decided to detain sixty-five suspects from the so-called (owners of the cause) gang, which promotes ideas that cause unrest and disrupt social security."

The statement added that the arrests were made in coordination with the National Security Agency, which is responsible for investigations.

In a surprising announcement on Friday, Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadr movement, declared a freeze of the Sadrist movement for one year.

Al-Sadr said, "To be a reformer in Iraq and to be unable to reform the Sadrist movement is a sin," he tweeted.

Al-Sadr went on to say that he finds it in the interest of Iraq to freeze the movement except for Friday prayers, the heritage department, and the office of "Sayyid al-Shuhada."

He added that the freeze should last for no less than a year "to declare my innocence before my Lord first and my father second."

Al-Sadr concluded his tweet with the statement, "I am tired of them, and they are tired of me."

Later developments saw Al-Sadr's Twitter account and the Sayyid al-Shuhada shrine and Al-Sadr's office closed.

Salih Mohammed al-Iraqi, also known as the Minister of Muqtada al-Sadr, announced today the cancellation of the supposed isolation of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, in the Kufa Mosque.

In a tweet published on his official Twitter account, al-Iraqi stated that "at the orders of his eminence (Muqtada al-Sadr), the isolation in the revered Kufa Mosque has been cancelled." He added that the cancellation was due to "the actions of the corrupt [...] may God not bless them."