Continued Violations of Rights of Imprisoned Dervishes; Eight Imprisoned Dervishes Go on Hunger Strike
Following the continuation of pressures on imprisoned dervishes and their deprivation of basic and legal rights, eight dervishes in Fashafuyeh Prison (Tehran’s large detention center) have gone on a hunger strike.
According to Majzouban Noor, which publishes news about Gonabadi dervishes, Zafar Ali Moghimi, Mohsen Azizi, Mohammad Baqer Moghimi, Ali Jamshidi, Hossein Fahimi, Mostafa Shirazi, and Mohammad Ali Karami are eight dervishes who have begun a hunger strike in protest of widespread violations of the rights of other imprisoned dervishes.
Additionally, Ahmad Iranikhah, a theater and film director and imprisoned dervish, has boycotted attendance at court in protest of being denied access to a lawyer and the failure to observe legal procedures in the trial process of the dervish cases.
He has characterized the ideological questions posed by the revolutionary court judges as an example of thought investigation.
Majzouban Noor has also reported that Ayyub Asadi, an imprisoned dervish, was transferred to the hospital for only a few hours following the exacerbation of his MS illness and was subsequently returned to prison.
Nervous strain resulting from poor prison conditions, lack of access to medications and medical facilities, has been a factor in the exacerbation of Mr. Asadi’s illness.
A day earlier, it was reported that security officials, by appearing at the hospital, announced that if Dr. Nazila Nouri, an imprisoned female dervish, was not shackled and chained to the hospital bed, they would return her to prison.
She is scheduled for surgery on the recommendation of her treating physicians, but her family members are also being prevented from being present at the hospital.
A gathering of Gonabadi dervishes in front of the Pasdar police station on the 14th of Bahman last year, in protest of the detention of an elderly dervish, turned violent with the intervention of plainclothes security personnel and police forces. During these clashes, several police and Basij officers were killed, and hundreds of Gonabadi dervishes were arrested.
In recent months, concerning reports of violations of the rights of imprisoned dervishes have been published, which have prompted reactions from international organizations. Including the International Federation of Human Rights Societies, on the 26th of Ordibehesht, referring to the trial of arrested Gonabadi dervishes accompanied by “cover-ups,” called this action a “mockery of justice” and “a clear violation of international standards.”
The U.S. State Department also reacted in the last month of last year, condemning the suppression of Gonabadi dervishes, and responded to the suspicious death of one of these dervishes in detention, describing it as concerning.
Source: Voice of America
