Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 27, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr expresses support for pro-Palestinian encampments at US universities
Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, makes a speech from his house in Najaf, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
Iraqi religious leader Moqtada Sadr expresses his support for pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel encampments at universities in the United States and calls for an end to police action against them.
“We call for a halt to the crackdown on voices advocating for peace and freedom,” Sadr says in a statement.
“The voice of American universities demanding an end to Zionist terrorism is our voice.”
Sadr once led a militia fighting American forces following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
He retains a devoted following of millions among the country’s majority Shiite Muslim population, and wields great influence over Iraqi politics.
