Security Forces Prevent Families of Imprisoned Dervishes from Meeting Noor Ali Tabandeh

The website 'Majzoban Noor' has reported that security forces prevented the families of imprisoned dervishes from meeting Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes. At the same time, it has been reported that there is still no news about eight imprisoned Gonabadi dervishes. According to the 'Majzoban Noor' website, which covers news about Gonabadi dervishes, a group of families of imprisoned dervishes intended to visit him at his home in Pasdaran Street, Tehran, on Friday, October 20, to celebrate Noor Ali Tabandeh's 92nd birthday, but security forces blocked their entry. Since the end of Bahman last year, when clashes occurred in Pasdaran Street, Mr. Tabandeh has been under house arrest. During the clashes in Bahman last year, about five hundred dervishes were arrested, of which more than 350 are still imprisoned, and long-term prison sentences have been issued for dozens of them. Several sources, including Human Rights Watch, have also reported that on September 7, security forces violently attacked a group of dervishes who were on hunger strike in Fashafouyeh prison in Tehran. Since that date, several dervishes have been transferred to solitary confinement, and there is no news about the fate of eight of them named Reza Entesari, Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, Kasra Noori, Morteza Kangarlu Bilchi, Sina Entesari, Mehdi Eskandari, Amir Noori, and Hesam Moeini. Faezah Abdi Pour, a student activist and the wife of Mohammad Sharifi, stated that the lack of information and contradictory statements from judicial officials have worried the families of these dervishes. According to Ms. Abdi Pour, the Tehran prosecutor has announced that a new case has been opened for these dervishes, but he has not specified the charges against them. Among the dervishes arrested in Bahman last year, Mohammad Reza Thalath was accused by the court of running over three police officers with a bus and was executed on June 28. Zeynab Taheri, Mr. Thalath's lawyer, emphasized that he is innocent; Amnesty International also stated that his execution 'sacrifices justice.' After the execution of Mohammad Thalath, his defense attorney was arrested after announcing that he intended to publish 'documents of his client's innocence' and was later released. Source: Majzoban Noor website, Human Rights Campaign in Iran, and Radio Farda.