The Human Rights Activists Committee in Iran announced today that the recent wave of attack on Dervishes in Iran is a clear indication of the Iranian government’s intolerance towards religious minorities in that country. This committee believes that these premeditated attacks are contradictory to Islamic Republic of Iran’s commitment to the Human Rights Committee in the United Nations, which, if fulfilled, would have improved the conditions of religious minorities in Iran.
The Human Rights Activists Committee in Iran believe that the Iranian government have marginalized Sufi Dervishes, along with other religious minorities, in a systematic manner with their suppressive policies and discriminatory rules. This behavior is not only against religious freedom, but also paves the way for more extensive violation of human rights.
During the past 15 years, pressure on Gonabadi and other Dervishes in Iran has heightened. Seven lawyers advocating Dervishes’ rights, Hamid-Reza Moradi, Mustafa Daneshjoo, Amir Eslami, Reza Entesari, Afshin Karampour, Farshid Yadoallahi, and Omid Behroozi, have been imprisoned by the Iranian Government forces since Shahrivar, 1390 (September, 2011), along with hundreds of arrests of other Iranian citizens belonging to this community merely because they practiced their profession and launched Majzooban Noor news agency to let the world know about the violation of Dervishes’ rights.
The extensive objections raised in the last few days by the followers of Sufism was the consequence of the unremitting pressure and, what Iranian Sufi Dervishes call, Iranian state’s security-oriented approach to this religious minority. These objections have been voiced through the imprisoned Dervishes’ hunger strike and, subsequently, the initiation of “Sufis’ migration from Iran to Evin Prison” campaign. During this peaceful campaign and Iranian Dervishes’ attempts to stage a rally today in front of Prosecutor General’s office in Tehran to seek justice, security and police forces have arrested at least 480 citizens, many of them women and children. This wave of arrests not only amounts to violating freedom of thought and speech and the right to have free rallies but also will exacerbate tensions in Iran.
In this regard, one of the members of the “Sufis’ migration from Iran to Evin Prison” campaign told the Human Rights Activists Committee in Iran that more than 2000 Gonabadi Dervishes staged the peace rally a few days ago, as called for by the campaign, with the aim of stopping the security-oriented approach imposed on Sufis. Security and police forces arrested and transferred at least 480 citizens who were on the streets leading to Prosecutor General’s Office in Tehran to different police stations. The security guards transferred 80 women to a Dervish place of worship near where they were arrested and released them after approximately an hour. However, around 400 men are still in different detention centers, many of whom have gone on hunger strike. This Dervish-rights activist mentioned that they will continue their peaceful protests, another one of which will be soon.

Concerned about the health conditions of the imprisoned Gonabadi Dervishes on hunger strike, the today’s conflicts, and severe attacks on the Iranian citizens who were arrested not because of any crimes but because they had voiced their legal requests which they are entitled to in a peaceful manner, Human Rights Activists Committee in Iran demanded immediate release of the arrested. It also asked the UN Human Rights rapporteur on Iran to immediately contact the Iranian government about this issue, warning them against the rising tensions in Iran and convincing them to adopt a policy of tolerance and avoiding violence as their international obligation.

Human Rights Activists Committee in Iran Secretariat
Shahrivar, 29, 1393 (20, September, 2014)