Hunger Strike of Ten Female Dervishes in Qarchak Prison, Varamin

The Majzoban Noor website reported that ten female dervishes imprisoned in Qarchak prison have gone on hunger strike since Friday, June 15, in protest against "beating" and "organized violence" by the prison guards. In the past two days, reports have emerged about an attack by prison guards on the female dervishes on Wednesday, June 13. Meanwhile, Sediqeh Khalili, the mother of Sepideh Moradi, one of these women, stated in an interview with Radio Farda that the female dervishes protested against the non-delivery of phone cards, which led prison officials to "ask some inmates with murder and drug trafficking crimes to beat them." According to Ms. Khalili, the guards then attacked the female dervishes with "stun guns and batons," separating them and transferring them to different wards. Families of the women gathered in front of Qarchak prison on Thursday in protest against their "beating." However, Ahmadollah Sinkai, the public prosecutor of Qarchak, denied the reports of the dervishes being beaten and called it "news fabrication." Amnesty International had previously reported that female dervishes in Qarchak prison are "mocked and verbally abused, including sexual insults, and do not have access to adequate medical services." The physical condition of these women has also been described as critical by activists and relatives of the dervishes. According to the Majzoban Noor website, which covers news related to the Gonabadi dervishes, these women are also being held in "general wards" of Qarchak prison, contrary to the prison organization’s regulations regarding the separation of crimes. On Saturday, June 8, the Majzoban Noor website reported that eight male dervishes imprisoned in Greater Tehran prison had also gone on hunger strike. Two days later, it reported that Hossein Hashemi and Alireza Ghasemi had also gone on hunger strike. The strikers are demanding an end to the house arrest of Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes, and the release of "360 dervishes" who have been in temporary detention since the events on Golestan 7 Street in Pasdaran. The protest gathering of Gonabadi dervishes on February 19 of last year around Noor Ali Tabandeh's house escalated into violence with the intervention of security forces and motorcyclist plainclothes agents. In this context, Mousa Ghazanfari Abadi, the head of Tehran's revolutionary courts, announced on Sunday, June 10, the issuance of long and short prison sentences for 150 dervishes arrested during the clashes on Pasdaran Street. Additionally, reports have emerged of six-year and seven-year prison sentences for several dervishes. Mohammad Reza Thalath, one of the Gonabadi dervishes, has been sentenced to death by the court for allegedly running over three police officers with a bus during these clashes, and the Tehran prosecutor stated that this sentence would be carried out after Ramadan. However, according to Zeynab Taheri, the lawyer for Mohammad Thalath and his children, Mr. Thalath was arrested three hours before this incident and was not the driver of the bus. Furthermore, in an audio file released from Mohammad Thalath, he claims that he was not the driver of the bus and confessed to this due to "several hours of torture" at the police station. Mr. Thalath only denied the charge of intentional murder in court and did not mention that he was not the driver of the bus at all. Mohammad Raji, a detained Gonabadi dervish, also died a few days after his arrest. While the Majzoban Noor website reported that this Gonabadi dervish died during "interrogation," judicial authorities denied that Mr. Raji was killed in police custody and stated that he was killed during the clashes.