According to Roshan, this is only part of the verdicts issued for imprisoned dervishes, and for some of them, no verdict has yet been issued or announced.
Nematollah Riahi was one of the Gonabadi dervishes who was arrested on February 19, 2018. Following Riahi’s arrest, other dervishes gathered in front of Police Station 106 in protest of his continued detention, as he suffered from acute heart disease. This gathering led to severe clashes between police and special unit forces with a group of Gonabadi dervishes.
In this incident, Kesari Nouri, one of the imprisoned Gonabadi dervishes, announced in an audio file that special unit and security forces fired at dervishes and used tear gas to disperse them.
Saeed Sultanpour was one of the Gonabadi dervishes who was wounded by gunfire from law enforcement on February 20, 2018.
“Mock Trial” of Mohammad Thalath on Charges of Killing Law Enforcement Officers
According to judicial authorities, Mohammad Thalath was a protesting dervish who, on February 20, 2018, in the Pasadaran Street area of Tehran, drove a bus toward a group of law enforcement officers and killed three of them.
Mohammad Thalath was sentenced to death by Branch 9 of the Criminal Court of Tehran State, presided over by Judge Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Keshkoli, on charges of three counts of premeditated murder and disturbing public order through rioting and assault, just one month after his arrest.
Thalath’s death sentence was carried out in the early morning of June 19, 2019. His body was buried in a cemetery in Borujerd without permission from his family and with “the presence of 200 riot control officers.” The execution was carried out while “Mohammad Thalath” had denied the charges of premeditated murder in court.
According to Alireza Roshan, Thalath’s execution, despite his claims that he was not the bus driver and his lawyer’s assertion that Thalath’s confession was obtained under torture, was a clear violation of human rights.
The United States government called Mohammad Thalath’s execution a “brutal and unjust” act and, while condemning it, also called on America’s allies around the world to condemn this action by the Iranian government.
In a note published in August of that year by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in USA Today newspaper, he referred to the suppression of critics and protesters in Iran and also mentioned the execution of Mohammad Thalath of the Gonabadi dervishes. He called his trial a “mockery” and said that Thalath did not have access to his lawyer. Thalath’s death was part of the broader suppression of the Gonabadi dervishes that had begun earlier.
Mohammad Raji’s Death Under Torture While in Custody
Mohammad Raji, who was arrested by security forces in the Pasadaran area during the events of Monday, February 20, 2018, died “as a result of physical injuries” while in custody.
On Saturday, March 3, 2018, officers from the Intelligence Office on Shapour Street summoned Raji’s family and informed them that he was in a coma. One day after summoning Raji’s family to the Intelligence Office, law enforcement officials informed them that Raji had died as a result of physical injuries.
Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, reacted to the news of “Mohammad Raji’s” death, a Gonabadi dervish, saying: “Once again, we are saddened to hear of the death of one of the prisoners of conscience while in custody.”
The Gonabadi dervishes have repeatedly protested during their detention against beatings during interrogation, lack of access to lawyers, and unfair trials. Some dervishes refused to appear in court due to violation of their legal rights. Some other dervishes viewed ideological questions and some matters raised in the indictment as instances of thought control and refused to appear in court.
Mohsen Azizi was one of the dervishes who, without having a lawyer, was tried in Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court under Judge Ahmadzadegan on charges of assembly and conspiracy with the intent to act against national security and was sentenced to three years in prison. Following this verdict, Azizi called Iranian courts unjust and refused to attend the appeals court.
Dire Situation of Female Dervish Prisoners
Sepideh Moradi, Elham Ahmadi, and Shokofeh Yadalahi are among the female dervish prisoners who were transferred in June to the cell block of prisoners convicted of murder, theft, and drug offenses due to reporting on the non-standard conditions at Qarchak-Varamin Prison, which was formerly a poultry farm, placing them in extremely difficult conditions.
This was despite the fact that Shokofeh Yadalahi, as a result of the violent arrest during the Golestan Haftom incident, had suffered from chronic headaches due to a fractured skull and, according to her treating physician’s recommendation, should have been held in a clean place away from contamination from drug and tobacco use.
These three female dervish prisoners were beaten in December when they requested the return of their personal belongings from prison officials, on the orders of Mohammadi, the prison’s warden.
Following this incident, male dervish prisoners at Fashafuyeh Prison went on strike for more than a month and refused to have visits with their families.
This was not the only protest by imprisoned dervishes regarding their situation.
Recently, Rasool Hoyda, a physiotherapist and imprisoned dervish, released an audio file reporting on the deaths of prisoners detained at Fashafuyeh due to poor sanitary and non-standard medical conditions.
“Reza Sigarchie,” another dervish detained at Fashafuyeh Prison, also released a letter stating that he himself suffers from heart disease and that the report by Rasool Hoyda, another imprisoned dervish, confirms the poor medical and treatment conditions at this prison.
