Report on the Latest Situation of 4 Gonabadi Dervishes in Tehran and Shiraz Prisons

Harana News Agency – Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Mostafa Abdi, Kasra Nouri, and Abbas Dehghan, four Gonabadi dervishes, are serving their sentences in Tehran’s Greater Tehran Prison and Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz. These citizens were arrested in the early morning of March 21, 2017 (1st Esfand 1396) along with hundreds of other dervishes.

According to Harana News Agency, the news organ of the Iranian Human Rights Activists’ Coalition, today Friday, June 10, 2022 (20 Khordad 1401), Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Mostafa Abdi, Kasra Nouri, and Abbas Dehghan are serving their sentences in Greater Tehran Prison and Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz.

An informed source regarding the situation of these prisoners told Harana: “Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Mostafa Abdi, and Abbas Dehghan, three Gonabadi dervishes, are currently being held in Hall 2 of Unit 2 Section 5 of Greater Tehran Prison in one cell with doubled restrictions on movement and communication with other prison sections.”

Harana reported in mid-April of this year about the visitation ban imposed on Moghaddam, Abdi, and Dehghan in Greater Tehran Prison. Sharifi Moghaddam was also prohibited from accessing the prison library. The restrictions imposed on these three Gonabadi dervishes followed a dispute and argument with Piroozfar, the deputy of Greater Tehran Prison.

These Gonabadi dervishes were arrested in the early morning of March 21, 2017 during the Golestan Haftom incident and transferred to Greater Tehran Prison. Kasra Nouri was transferred from Greater Tehran Prison to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz in November 2018. He was transferred to Evin Prison in February 2020 and ultimately returned to Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz on March 19, 2020.

Sharifi Moghaddam was previously sentenced by Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salwati, to 12 years of incarceration, 74 lashes, 2 years of exile to Borazjan, and 2 years of social deprivation and prohibition from leaving the country. This sentence was confirmed due to lack of a request for appeal and was notified to him. With the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the severest punishment, namely 7 and a half years of incarceration, is enforceable.

Mostafa Abdi was also sentenced by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court to 26 years and 3 months of incarceration, 148 lashes, 2 years of exile to Sistan and Baluchestan, 2 years of prohibition from leaving the country, and 2 years of deprivation from membership in groups, parties, and political and social organizations and media activities. With the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the severest punishment, namely 7 and a half years of incarceration, is enforceable.

Abbas Dehghan underwent interrogation for 70 days in 2018 for a case opened in criminal court. As a result of consecutive blows to his ears during interrogation, he suffered a stroke and severe infection. Dehghan was transferred from Greater Tehran Prison to Ward 2-A of the Sepah section in Evin Prison on September 30, 2018 and was later returned to Greater Tehran Prison. This Gonabadi dervish was held in Shapoor Police Detention Center for 6 months after arrest.

Dehghan was ultimately sentenced in February 2020 to imprisonment, lashing, and payment of blood money. In the first part of his case, he was sentenced by Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad Reza Amouzad, to 5 years of incarceration on the charge of “assembly and conspiracy against the country’s internal security.” This sentence was confirmed on appeal by Branch 36 of Tehran’s Court of Appeals, presided over by Judge Ahmad Zargar. Dehghan was also sentenced in the second part of his case by Branch 1146 of Tehran’s Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Alireza Pashafor, to 1 year of imprisonment and 74 lashes on the charge of “disruption of public order,” 6 months of imprisonment on the charge of “insulting officials,” 2 years of imprisonment and 140 million tomans in blood money on the charge of “assault and battery of Basij members,” and 3 years of imprisonment on the charge of “attempted murder of Mohammad Hossein Hadadyan,” for a total of 6 years and 6 months of incarceration, 74 lashes, and payment of 140 million tomans in blood money. Mohammad Hossein Hadadyan was one of the Basij members present during the Golestan Haftom incident, and security agencies reported his death during the protests.

With the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the severest punishment, namely 6 years and 3 months of imprisonment, will be enforceable for him.

Kasra Nouri was also sentenced in August 2018 by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Ahmadzadeh, to 12 years of incarceration, 74 lashes, 2 years of exile to Thalath Babajani, 2 years of prohibition from leaving the country, and 2 years of deprivation from membership in groups, parties, and political and social organizations and media activities. This sentence was confirmed due to lack of a request for appeal and was notified to him. With the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, the severest punishment, namely 7 and a half years of incarceration, is enforceable.

It should be noted that this imprisoned Gonabadi dervish was expelled from the University of Tehran in summer 2021 due to what was stated as failure to attend university. Following repeated attempts by Shokofeh Yadollahi, Kasra Nouri’s mother, at the University of Tehran, a letter was obtained regarding the cancellation of this imprisoned dervish’s expulsion from the university. According to this letter, the continuation of Kasra Nouri’s education after the end of his sentence was deemed permissible.

Nouri had previously served a prison term from 2011 to mid-2015 due to media activity for the Gonabadi dervishes in Plate 100 Prison in Shiraz, Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, and Evin Prison in Tehran.

Mostafa Abdi also had a previous history of arrest and conviction. He was sentenced by Judge Salwati in June 2013 on the charge of assembly and conspiracy with the intention of disrupting national security to 3 years of incarceration and was released from Evin Prison in December 2015 after serving his three-year sentence.

Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam was born in 1991 and is married, Mostafa Abdi was born in 1985, Kasra Nouri was born in 1990, and Abbas Dehghan was born in 1987 and is the father of two children.

The Gonabadi dervishes, especially in recent years, have experienced unprecedented pressure from the ruling apparatus. This pressure took on a more outward and visible form, especially after the “Golestan Haftom” incident.

Golestan Haftom refers to a series of events that began at midnight on February 4, 2017 (14 Bahman 1396) with the presence of a large number of security and police forces around the home of Dr. Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes, and during which hundreds of dervishes were arrested and subsequently sentenced to lashing, imprisonment, and execution.