Prisoner Dervishes on Hunger Strike in Protest Against 'Widespread Rights Violations'

The Majzooban Noor website, affiliated with the Gonabadi Dervishes, has reported that Zahra Ali Moqimi, Mohsen Azizi, Mohammad Baqer Moqimi, Ali Jamshidi, Hossein Fahimi, Mostafa Shirazian, and Mohammad Ali Karimi, eight imprisoned dervishes, have gone on hunger strike in protest against what has been described as widespread violations of their rights. Majzooban Noor states that at least five of these dervishes began their hunger strike some time ago, and some of them are in critical condition. The strikers are also demanding the release of 360 dervishes who have been detained since February 2018 in Golestan 7 Street in the Pasdaran area of Tehran. In February of last year, clashes occurred between dervishes and security forces in Pasdaran Street when the dervishes attempted to prevent these forces from entering the home of Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the dervishes. This confrontation resulted in the deaths of two Basij members and three police officers, and the arrest of hundreds of Gonabadi dervishes, many of whom were injured due to beatings. Mohammad Thalath, one of the dervishes, has been sentenced to death for the alleged murder of three police officers. Thalath has never accepted the charge of intentional murder in his defense, and according to his lawyer, he was not in a normal state due to multiple blows to the head. Amnesty International has reported that female dervishes in Rey prison are subjected to mockery and sexual abuse and do not have access to adequate medical services. The situation of female dervish prisoners in Qarchak prison has also been described as critical by activists and relatives of the dervishes. Razieh Yadollahi, the sister of Shokufe Yadollahi, who is detained in Qarchak prison, states that her sister suffered a skull fracture due to the blows received during her arrest. Ms. Yadollahi mentions that her sister has contracted intestinal infections due to the unsanitary conditions of Qarchak prison, to the extent that she agreed to be transferred to solitary confinement, but officials have not responded to her requests. Nazila Noori, another imprisoned dervish, is awaiting surgery and has been transferred to Milad Hospital in Tehran while handcuffed and shackled. The charges against Shokufe Yadollahi and ten other women from the dervish community include conspiracy against national security. Simultaneously, the head of the Tehran Revolutionary Court has announced the issuance of 150 verdicts for the defendants in the dervish case. Mousa Ghazanfari Abadi, in an interview with the IRIB news agency, stated that some defendants have been sentenced to short-term imprisonment due to the nature of the charges, while others have received long-term sentences, and some trials will be held publicly.