Abdolmalek Rigi

Abdolmalek Rigi (Abdulmalik Rigi)
File:Abdolmalek Rigi.jpg
Nickname(s)	Rigi
Allegiance	Jundallah (Brigade of God)
Years of service	1998 - 2010
Rank	Commander-in-chief
Battles/wars	Insurgency in Iran

Abdolmalek Rigi (also spelt Abdul-Malek Rigi or Abdulmalik Rigi) (Persian: عبدالمالک ریگی) is the leader of Jundallah, a Sunni terrorist organization based in the southeastern area of Iran.

Biography

Born in 1979, Abdolmalek Rigi is from the Regi tribe, an ethnically Baloch people. Although Rigi has not had significant education, he did attend a Sunni Muslim religious seminary for a few years. Prior to founding Jundallah, Rigi was convicted of assault with a knife, for which he served time in prison.

Rigi and his group have been the main cause of the killing of civilians in Iran in recent years. In 2006 Rigi and his group blocked the Zabol - Zahedan road in eastern Iran and killed 22 civilians who were passengers of vehicles using the road to return to their families for the New Years' holidays. A list of other attacks and insurgencies of the group can be found on the Jundallah article.

In recent years, there has been considerable controversy over their support and international ties. Jundallah is even believed to be linked to Al-Qaeda. There are also claims that Jundallah has had contact with the US government and receives funding from Baluchi Iranians abroad. However, Jundallah claims to be fighting exclusively for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Rigi "is personally responsible for the death and injuries to more than 50 Baluchi Iranians."

Rigi described himself as an Iranian and denies that his goal is to form a separate Baluchistan autonomous region. Rather, his goal is to improve conditions for ethnic Baluchis. On April 2, 2007, Abdolmalek Rigi appeared on the Persian service of Voice of America, the official broadcasting service of the United States government, which identified Rigi as "the leader of popular Iranian resistance movement" and used the title of "Doctor" with his name. This incidence resulted in public condemnation by Persian-American communities in the U.S, as well as the Iranian government.

According to a former hostage, Rigi never sleeps in one place for two consecutive nights and does not shake hands with other people without wearing gloves. He is also reported to emulate Al-Zarqawi in his conduct and videos of hostage executions. It has also been reported that he has killed his brother's wife, shooting her to death while she was asleep.

The Iranian newspaper Kayhan incorrectly reported on 7 April 2005, "Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of the terrorist group, the Jundullah... was killed in an operation on the border with Afghanistan." A video surfaced on 11 April showing Rigi alive. Rigi's brother Abdulhamid Rigi has accused his brother to be working with Americans against Iran. Abdolmalek Rigi has accused and criticized Sunni Ulemas of Balochistan for supporting the Iranian government against him and his group.

Arrest

According to the Iranian state report, on 23 February 2010, “Rigi was arrested in Persian Gulf waters while he was traveling on a plane via Dubai to Kyrgyzstan.” According to an Iranian official, “His plane was ordered to land, and then he was arrested after the plane was searched.” The New York Times later reported that the flight was from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. Al Jazeera reported from Pakistan that Mr. Rigi was in fact arrested in Pakistan and handed over to Iran At a later time, Bishkek airport confirmed that Kyrgyzstan Airways flight QH454 from Dubai had arrived several hours late yesterday after being intercepted by Iranian fighter aircraft over the Persian Gulf and told to land in Iranian territory.

A different version of the capture described by the Washinton Post and the Tehran-based news analysis site Iran Diplomacy, is that Rigi was arrested by "the intelligence services of the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan," or by "Pakistani intelligence officials", - after `consulting` with the United States".

Iran's intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi claimed that Rigi had been at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his arrest. At a press conference he flourished a photograph which he said showed Rigi outside the base with two other men, though he gave no details of where the base was, or how or when the photograph was obtained. Photographs were also shown of an Afghan passport and identity card said to have been given by the Americans to Rigi. Moslehi also alleged that Rigi had met the then NATO secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, in Afghanistan in 2008, and had visited European countries. He said agents had tracked Rigi's movements for five months, calling his arrest "a great defeat for the US and UK".

Iran has repeatedly claimed that Jundullah is backed directly by Pakistan, the USA, the UK and Israel. It has also been alleged by western media that in 2007 CIA provided funding and weapons to Jundullah.

See also

• 2009 Zahedan explosion
• Jundallah