April 19, 2019
A total of 23 dervishes from the Sufi Gonabadi Order have been sentenced to lashings and prison terms of up to 26 years, according to a human rights group, which cast the convictions as a further strangling of freedom of religion in Iran.
“It’s a clear assault on a religious minority,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “This was a political decision to send a signal that anyone who associates with Sufis in Iran risks paying heavy costs.”
The prison sentences ranged from six to 26 years and included 74 lashes, two years in exile, a two-year ban on social media and interviews, and a two-year prohibition on traveling abroad, according to Majzooban Noor, a Sufi-operated website that posts articles pertaining to the Gonabadi Order.
All the defendants were detained at a February 2018 street protest in Tehran that erupted in violence. The police tried to disperse the Sufis, who, to the surprise of many, fought back.
Arguing that they were denied a fair trial, none of the 23 dervishes appeared in their court sessions as a form of collective protest, according to Majzooban.
“It is unwise to request an appeal from an unjust regime that mistreats the people,” they wrote in an open letter published in December. “The Islamic Republic expected us to appear on the defendants’ stand … and bow to the judge’s nonsense dictated by the security authorities.”
Mostafa Abdi received the harshest prison sentence of 26 years and three months followed by Kasra Nuri and Mohammad Sharifi-Moqaddam who received 12 years each.
The other defendants’ sentences are unknown. Some of the charges they were convicted of include “assembly and collusion against national security,” “disobeying the police” and “disturbing public order.”
A Tehran Appeals Court upheld the verdicts in March, reported Majzooban.
Followers of the Sufi Gonabadi order, referred to as dervishes, believe in a mystic interpretation of Islam. They described themselves as Shiis, but the regime does not recognize groups that advocate practices not endorsed by the official faith. The dervishes have often faced discrimination, including arrests and expulsion from universities for peacefully practicing their faith.
Hundreds of dervishes were detained and dozens hospitalized February 19, 2018, at a street protest in Tehran after police opened fire on the demonstration, according to Majzooban.
The dervishes were protesting in front of the 102nd Police Station for the release of Nematollah Riahi, a fellow dervish who had been arrested outside the Tehran-based home of the Gonabadi Order’s spiritual leader, Nur-Ali Tabandeh.
One dervish, Mohammad Raji, died in police custody and three policemen died after being run over by a bus. Two members of the Basij force were also killed during the clashes.