Ejei: Another Participant in the Basij Clashes at the Hospital Has Died

Following reports of the deaths of three Gonabadi Dervishes in a hospital, the spokesperson for Iran's judiciary confirmed that, in addition to police officers, one individual present during the Basij clashes at the hospital has lost his life. According to the IRNA news agency, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei stated on Sunday, February 25, during a press conference in response to a question about the beating of detained Gonabadi Dervishes that when individuals 'stand in the street against the people and police,' one cannot expect 'the police not to stand against them.' He added, 'Besides the officers, one person has died, but I do not know if he was among the rioters; he died in the hospital.' Previously, some websites reported the deaths of three Gonabadi Dervishes in the hospital and the uncertain condition of several detained Dervishes. Additionally, photos and videos of severe beatings of some Dervishes during their arrests have been published. Farhad Noori, a rights activist for Dervishes in Iran, announced that at least 500 Gonabadi Dervishes have been detained, and the website Majzooban Noor has published the names of more than 300 detained Dervishes. A major clash occurred on Tuesday night and early Wednesday last week between security forces and Gonabadi Dervishes on Pasdaran Street in Tehran, during which, according to Islamic Republic officials, three police officers and one Basij member were killed, and another Basij member is in a coma. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Tehran's prosecutor, announced on Saturday, February 24, without providing details, that the situation of the detained Dervishes from the Pasdaran clashes would be 'determined' and that 'the main perpetrators will not be released soon' and will be 'punished.' On February 21, Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi also reported the issuance of an indictment for the 'perpetrator of the killing' of three police officers on charges of 'premeditated murder.' In this incident, based on published videos, an individual ran over several police officers with a bus. In this context, the spokesperson for the judiciary also stated on Sunday that the court for this individual 'will be held as soon as possible.' Meanwhile, according to ILNA news agency, Mohammad Kowsari, deputy commander of the Sarallah Headquarters in Tehran, announced that the sentence for this individual 'from our perspective is execution.' The emphasis by judiciary officials on punishing the detained Gonabadi Dervishes comes as a protest gathering by Gonabadi Dervishes around the house of Noor Ali Tabandeh, 'the leader of this order,' turned violent due to the intervention of security forces and motorcycle-riding plainclothes agents. At the same time, the Human Rights Defenders Center, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, reported in its January report on human rights violations in Iran, referring to these clashes, that 'the source of many unfortunate events in street protests is the presence and intervention of Basij forces at the scene of the incident.' While Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes, has called on his supporters to remain calm, attacks from close associates of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and some clerics against this group continue. Regarding the report from the mayor's office to the judiciary about the 'violations' of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the spokesperson for the judiciary stated that 'a report has been submitted that is under review.' Mr. Ejei did not provide further details about the examination of this report by the judiciary. Mohammad Ali Najafi, the mayor of Tehran, on Sunday, January 13, reported on the status of the capital's municipality, accusing the former mayor and managers of this institution of issues such as 'spending the municipality's budget in the presidential election,' 'the sudden hiring of 13,000 people on the eve of the election,' 'betrayal in the employees' savings fund,' and 'the arbitrary allocation of 674 properties.' Mr. Najafi also stated that the Tehran municipality intends to send reports on four or five instances of 'violations' during Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's tenure to the judiciary. However, a week later, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, criticized the publication of this report and announced that he had asked Mohammad Ali Najafi to 'immediately' provide his documentation regarding this matter to this institution. One day after the publication of the mayor's report, Majid Farahani, a member of the Tehran City Council, reported the 'disappearance' of 20 trillion tomans from the Tehran municipality's budget over the years 2005 to 2017. In response, Hossein Ghorban-zadeh, a political advisor to the former mayor of Tehran, accused Mohammad Ali Najafi of 'absolute blackening' and stated that he has taken the place of a judge by 'using a suspicious contract as a pretext.'