Judicial Sentences Issued for 285 Dervishes Despite Complaints of Rights Violations

While Tehran’s prosecutor announced that judicial sentences have been issued for many detained dervishes, reports indicate that dervishes did not participate in court sessions and heavy sentences were issued against them.

Abbas Jafari Dowlatabad said on Monday, July 15, at an administrative meeting of Tehran’s prosecutor’s office that sentences have been issued for 285 people described as “perpetrators of the Esfand riots of last year.”

A gathering of Gonabadi dervishes in front of the Pasdaran police station on the last day of Bahman of last year in protest of the arrest of an elderly dervish turned violent with the intervention of plainclothes officers and police forces.

During these clashes, which continued until the first day of Esfand, several police and Basij officers were killed, and hundreds of Gonabadi dervishes were arrested. Security and judicial officials referred to the detainees as riot perpetrators.

In recent days, multiple reports have been published about heavy sentences issued to detained dervishes, including Amin Soleimani, Reza Nematollahi, and Hossam Moini, each sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, 74 lashes, 2 years of deprivation of membership in groups, media and cyberspace activities, and 2 years of travel ban. Akbar Dadashi was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment and 74 lashes, Musa Fazlipour, Hossein Jashn, and Omid Mahdi to 2 years imprisonment, and Kian Nezhad Hasani to 1 year imprisonment.

Also, according to a ruling by the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Ahmadzadeh, Ms. Nazila Nouri, Avisha Jalaldin, Sima Entesari, and Shima Entesari were each sentenced to five years in prison.

These sentences have been issued while many Gonabadi dervishes in recent months have complained of beatings during interrogation, lack of access to lawyers, and denial of fair trial. Some dervishes have abstained from appearing in court due to violations of their legal rights. Some other dervishes considered ideological questions and some matters raised in the indictment as examples of thought control and abstained from court appearance.

In recent months, concerning reports have been published about violations of the rights of imprisoned dervishes, which has prompted reactions from international bodies. On May 16, the International Federation of Human Rights Societies, referring to the trial of detained Gonabadi dervishes accompanied by “concealment,” called this action a “mockery of justice” and a “clear violation of international standards.”

The U.S. State Department also in Esfand of last year, while condemning the suppression of Gonabadi dervishes, reacted to the suspicious death of one of these dervishes in detention and described it as concerning.

Source: Voice of America