Amnesty International Calls for the Release of 11 Female Dervishes from Qarchak Prison

Amnesty International expressed concern in a statement released on Thursday, April 9, about the situation of at least 11 female dervishes held in Qarchak Prison and called for their immediate release. It was previously reported that over 70 female dervishes were arrested during events on February 19 near the home of Nourali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes, in Pasdaran Street, Tehran, with 11 of them transferred to Qarchak Prison. According to Amnesty International's statement, the dervish women have not had access to a lawyer since their arrest, and no action has been taken regarding Shima Entesari, who suffers from asthma, and other prisoners who were injured during and after their arrest. The organization listed the names of the 11 detainees in Qarchak Prison as Shokufe Yadollahi, Sepideh Moradi, Maryam Farisani, Nazila Noori, Sima and Shima Entesari, Shahnaz Kiani, Maryam Barakouhi, Elham Ahmadi, Avisha Jalaleddin, and Sadeghah Safabakh. Amnesty International referred to the inhumane conditions of Qarchak Prison, which has turned from a poultry farm into a detention center for hundreds of women, calling the detention of these 11 dervish women 'arbitrary' and accompanied by 'harassment and mistreatment.' During the clashes that occurred on February 19 and 20 near the home of Nourali Tabandeh, three police officers and one Basij member were killed, and over 300 protesting dervishes were arrested. The judge handling the case regarding the killing of the three police officers in Iran has issued a death sentence for Mohammad Thalath, a Gonabadi dervish and the accused in this case. Furthermore, Farhad Noori, a rights activist for dervishes residing in Australia, reported to Radio Farda about the pressures on several detained male dervishes. According to Noori, it has recently become clear that about 10 dervishes whose fate was unknown are being held in the Tehran Intelligence Department detention center, known as Shahpour Detention Center, which is typically used for holding suspects in criminal cases. This rights activist also mentioned that one of the detainees named Abbas Dehghan has been threatened with forced confession regarding driving a Samand vehicle during the events in Golestan 7, stating that if he does not cooperate, 'his wife will be assaulted in front of him.'