Prosecution Accuses Mohammad Thalath of 'Organized Attack' by Law Enforcement Officers

In the second session of the trial of Mohammad Thalath, a Gonabadi dervish accused of the intentional murder of three law enforcement officers during clashes in Pasdaran, the public prosecutor's representative rejected Thalath's statements and accused him of an 'organized' attack on the police. Thalath is accused of driving a bus towards law enforcement officers during a confrontation with Gonabadi dervishes in Pasdaran Street, resulting in the deaths of three officers. In his first court session held on Sunday, Thalath admitted to attacking the officers with the bus but stated that he was 'extremely nervous' due to the police's assault and having his head broken in 17 places, losing control of himself. He emphasized that the police should be a 'source of peace' rather than 'hitting those who mention God with batons.' Thalath mentioned that at the moment of the act, he 'thought of nothing' and did not even consider what would happen to him if he got off the bus. During the second court session on Tuesday, Mohammad Shahriari, the head of Tehran's Criminal Court, who was present as the public prosecutor's representative, stated that it is 'very naive' to accept the defendant's claims about being angry. Shahriari claimed that 'on the night of February 19 and the early morning of February 20, two vehicles, a Samand and a Persia, attacked the officers and assaulted them. The Samand vehicle also professionally injured several officers in Golestan 7. The defendants were arrested; they were not angry, which indicates a prior organization in this incident.' The public prosecutor's representative also stated that according to the 'defendant's acknowledgment' and 'forensic confirmation,' Thalath is of sound mind. He claimed that the bus used to attack the police had been parked in the same location for 15 nights and had been turned into a 'gathering place' by removing the seats. He added that among the defendants, Mohammad Thalath is the only one with a basic driving license and has driven. According to reports published by Iranian news agencies, the public prosecutor reiterated his request and that of the families of the three deceased law enforcement officers for 'retribution' against the defendant. Reports also indicate that Judge Mohammad Reza Mohammadi Kashkooli announced that with the introduction of a designated lawyer by the defendant, 'we are on the verge of receiving the final defense,' but at the request of Saeed Ashrafzadeh, Thalath's appointed lawyer, the final hearing has been postponed to March 17. Based on the indictment read in court on Sunday, Mohammad Thalath is accused of 'intentionally' running over Sergeant Reza Emami, Sergeant Mohammad Ali Bayrami, and conscript Reza Moradi with a bus, causing their deaths. Hossein Rahimi, the commander of Tehran's law enforcement, had previously announced that he would be executed before the end of the year 1396 (2017). While judicial officials emphasize 'swift and expedited' punishment for the arrested Gonabadi dervishes in the Pasdaran clashes, dozens of political and civil activists stated in a statement last week that the published news about the 'immediate and expedited trial' of the arrested dervishes has already undermined the principle of the independence and impartiality of the court. The Islamic Republic's actions against Gonabadi dervishes intensified in 2005. That year, widespread destruction of Gonabadi dervish houses of worship began in various cities of Iran, and many dervishes were subsequently arrested. Three weeks ago, on Tuesday, February 19, a protest gathering of Gonabadi dervishes around the house of Nour Ali Tabandeh, the leader of this order, turned violent with the intervention of security forces and plainclothes motorcyclists. This gathering initially formed in front of Police Station 102 in northern Tehran in protest against the arrest of a dervish named Nematollah Riahi. The Human Rights Defenders Center, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel laureate, recently reported on human rights violations in Iran, noting that 'the presence and intervention of Basij forces at the scene of incidents is the source of many unfortunate events in street protests.'