Mohammad Thalath Denies 'Intentional Killing of Law Enforcement Officers' on Pasdaran Street

Mohammad Thalath, a Gonabadi dervish accused of running over three law enforcement officers and killing them, denied the charge of intentional murder, stating that he was 'extremely nervous' due to an attack by the officers which resulted in 17 injuries to his head, causing him to lose control. According to Fars News Agency, on Sunday, March 10, during his trial, Thalath said that the law enforcement should be 'a source of peace' rather than 'hitting those who mention God with batons.' He emphasized, 'I have 17 broken spots on my head; they first hit me several times, which made me angry.' He added, 'I was extremely nervous and at that moment I had no control; I couldn't even see in front of me and understood nothing from my anger.' In response to the court's inquiry about whether he intended to hit a specific person with the bus, he said, 'No, because blood from my head was in my eyes and the bus window was dirty, I had poor visibility; I only realized they were law enforcement members from their clothing.' He also stated, 'I didn't think about anything, not even what would happen if I got off the bus. They hit me from the bus to the ground, breaking all my ribs.' Mohammad Thalath, who is 50 years old, was born in Borujerd and is a Twelver Shia. He mentioned, 'I was part of the dervish community for a while, but I am not a dervish. Dervish means nothing but peace and friendship; however, I acted against that because I had a moment of negligence.' According to the indictment read in court, Thalath is accused of 'intentionally' running over Sergeant Reza Emami, Sergeant Mohammad Ali Bayrami, and conscript soldier Reza Moradi, causing their deaths. Tehran's law enforcement chief, Hossein Rahimi, had previously announced that he would be executed before the end of the year 1396 (March 2018). The families of the three deceased officers also requested 'retribution' against him in court. While judicial officials emphasized 'swift and priority punishment' for the detained Gonabadi dervishes involved in the Pasdaran Street clashes, dozens of political and civil activists stated in a recent statement that the news about the 'immediate and priority trial' of the detained dervishes has already undermined the principle of judicial independence and impartiality. On Tuesday, February 19, a protest gathering of Gonabadi dervishes around the house of Nour Ali Tabandeh, the leader of this order, turned violent due to the intervention of security forces and plainclothes motorcyclists. The protest initially began in front of Police Station 102 in northern Tehran in response to the arrest of a dervish named Nematollah Riahi. Judicial officials had announced that Nematollah Riahi was arrested for stealing a Pride car. However, in court, Mohammad Thalath denied this accusation, saying, 'How can a person who has three hectares of garden steal a car?' Previously, the Human Rights Defenders Center, led by Shirin Ebadi, reported on human rights violations in Iran in February, stating that 'the presence and intervention of Basij forces at the scene of incidents is the source of many unfortunate events in street protests.' Meanwhile, while Nour Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes, called on his followers to remain calm and appointed representatives to negotiate with officials, attacks from close associates of the Supreme Leader against this group continue. The actions of the Islamic Republic against this group intensified in 2005 when widespread destruction of Gonabadi dervish houses of worship began in various cities of Iran, followed by the arrest of many dervishes. The Human Rights Defenders Center stated in an open letter to the UN Secretary-General in 2014 that Gonabadi dervishes have faced 'continuous harassment such as imprisonment, deprivation of social rights, and threats' for over 15 years.