Interior Minister's Reaction to Grave Sleeping: They Seek Refuge in Cemeteries Out of Fear of Arrest

Continuing the reactions of officials in the Islamic Republic to the Citizen newspaper's report about 'grave sleepers', the Interior Minister stated that 'grave sleeping is related to addicts who seek refuge in cemeteries to avoid being seen due to fear of arrest or confrontation.' According to ISNA news agency, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli emphasized on Wednesday, January 8, that these individuals 'are unwilling to visit shelters and camps.' According to Mr. Rahmani Fazli, 7,500 'visible addicts' are being 'cared for and accommodated' in municipal and welfare shelters and other places, with their daily maintenance costs being around 15,000 tomans. He stressed that these individuals are 'both housed and treated and are taken care of' in these centers. The Interior Minister stated that such issues 'can happen anywhere in the world' and should not be turned into a 'weakness of the system, government, and officials.' On Tuesday, the Citizen newspaper published a report about the lives of about 50 women, men, and children who sleep in graves at the Nasirabad cemetery near Shahriar County. This report had widespread repercussions on social media, and Asghar Farhadi, a filmmaker, expressed his embarrassment in a letter to the President, emphasizing that all those who have held responsibilities in Iran over the past thirty years should share in this 'embarrassment.' Hassan Rouhani also described the issue as 'very painful' in response to Farhadi's critical letter. Meanwhile, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Mayor of Tehran, referred to the report as 'bitter and stinging' and added that 'officials should be ashamed of the existence of such realities in society.' He emphasized that 'officials should see these harms and problems up close, live with them, and find solutions for them, rather than being informed about such disasters like grave sleeping only after they are widely published on social media through a letter from an artist.' The Mayor of Tehran wrote that 'all governments have a role in this old wound, but these problems are certainly the result of a capitalist and elitist perspective in managing the country and society.' He stressed that 'exploiting the pain of the people in political disputes is oppression, but not speaking out and not addressing these issues, simply using the excuse of political labeling, is another form of oppression.' The expressions of regret from the Iranian President, the Mayor of Tehran, and other officials regarding this incident have had a significant response on social media. Some social media users have written that the officials of the Islamic Republic themselves are responsible for creating these events, while others say that organizations like the Relief Committee and economic institutions under the leadership, including the Foundation of the Oppressed, are not fulfilling their duties in addressing these individuals. Ali Asghar Shafieian, the editor of Ensaf News website, also wrote in a note: 'Let us remember that one of the most evident examples of the oppression of officials before the revolution was the slums whose photos were printed in school books. According to statistics, urban marginalization at that time was about two to three million, and now it has reached about 11 million, and these heartbreaking images of grave sleepers are indeed embarrassing.' The Law newspaper reported that after the publication of the report about the grave sleepers in Nasirabad County in the Citizen newspaper, officials 'beat the homeless out of the cemetery.' However, Saeed Najafi, the governor of Shahriar, denied any orders for beating in dealing with individuals living in the Nasirabad cemetery, stating: 'We cleaned the area to the best of our ability, and those present were transferred to care centers.' He added: 'Last December, we held several operations to collect visible addicts, but it should be noted that these individuals do not want to be in these care centers.' According to responsible officials in Iran, 'millions' are involved in social harms. The Interior Minister stated in the open session of the parliament in June of this year that 600,000 Iranians are imprisoned annually, and Iran is grappling with issues such as 11 million people living on the margins, unemployment of three and a half million citizens, and addiction affecting one and a half million people.