Noor Ali Tabandeh, Leader of Gonabadi Dervishes, Returns to Hometown After 18 Months of House Arrest

Reports indicate that Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes order, has returned to his hometown of Bidkhand after 18 months of house arrest in a heightened security environment.

Faezeh Abdipour, the wife of Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, a dervish imprisoned in Fashafuyeh Prison, posted a video on her Twitter account stating that Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes, has announced his departure to the city of Bidkhand.

After spending 553 days under house arrest, Noor Ali Tabandeh headed to Mehrabad Airport this afternoon to travel to Bidkhand, his hometown. Ms. Abdipour wrote in a tweet that Mr. Tabandeh departed for the airport while severe security measures were in place in the Haftom Garden neighborhood.

Following the widespread presence of security forces and plainclothes officers on February 3, 2018, in the Haftom Garden neighborhood outside Noor Ali Tabandeh’s house, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes, large numbers of Gonabadi Dervishes gathered on that street to prevent the concentration of security and police forces in front of Noor Ali Tabandeh’s residence. They demanded that the area return to normal conditions, and this gathering continued until February 20 of that year.

During a series of confrontations between security forces and special units with the dervishes present at the site, several police officers and Basij members were killed, and hundreds of Gonabadi Dervishes were severely beaten and arrested.

In recent years, a large number of Gonabadi Dervishes have been arrested and imprisoned on security charges. They had declared that Noor Ali Tabandeh was their red line.

Following the arrests, 202 Gonabadi Dervishes were collectively sentenced to more than 1,080 years in prison. Mohammad Sallash was one of the Gonabadi Dervishes who was executed at dawn on June 19 on charges of killing police officers. The U.S. Secretary of State called the execution of this Gonabadi Dervish “cruel and unjust” and stated that the Iranian people deserve respect for human rights and freedom.

Source: Voice of America