Abdolmalek Rigi
Abdolmalek Rigi (c. 1979 – June 20th, 2010) was the leader of Jundallah, a Militant Islam terrorist group based in the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of southeast Iran. In 2010, he was captured and executed by the Iranian government.
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Biography edit
In recent years, there has been considerable controversy over their support and international ties. Jundallah is believed by many experts to be linked to Al-Qaeda. There are also claims that Jundallah has had contact with the U.S. government and receives funding from Baluchi Iranians abroad.
Dan Rather's U.S. cable channel HDnet's television news magazine Dan Rather Reports interviewed Rigi and showed a video of Rigi personally cutting off his brother-in-law Shahab Mansouri's head. In the same interview, Rigi described himself as "an Iranian" and denied that his goal was to form a separate Baluch state. He claimed that his goal was to "improve conditions for ethnic Baluchis," and that his group was "fighting exclusively for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran."
According to a former hostage, Rigi never slept in one place for two consecutive nights and did not shake hands with other people without wearing gloves. He was also reported to emulate Al-Zarqawi in his conduct and videos of hostage executions. The Iranian newspaper Kayhan incorrectly reported on April 7th, 2005 that Rigi had been killed in operation on the border to Afghanistan. A video surfaced on April 11th, 2005, showing Rigi alive. Rigi's brother Abdulhamid Rigi accused his brother of working with Americans against Iran. Iranian authorities claimed that Rigi had murdered an Iranian general and carried out terrorist attacks in Iran. These allegations led to his arrest in February 2010.