In an interview with Rooz news agency, Nematollahi Gonabadi Dervishes’ families said that, after the deadline given to officials for fulfilling their demands was over, they staged another “peace rally” in front of Tehran’s Ministry of Justice and, subsequently, visited the representative of the minister.
During the rally, of which a number of videos have been broadcast in different social media, Majzooban Noor website, which covers the news about Gonabadi Dervishes, could not be accessed. In an interview with Rooz, Farhad Nouri, the editor-in-chief of the website, said that a boycott has been imposed on news related to Dervishes, and the state is attempting to hinder release of news related to the violation of their rights.
On Sunday, September, 28, the Facebook page of Majzooban Noor reported that following Gonabadi Dervishes’ rally in front of Ministry of Justice, the representative of the minister had told the imprisoned Dervishes’ families and lawyers in an emergency meeting: “Give us a week, so we will share your demands with the judiciary”. According to the reports, at least one thousand people had attended the rally.
Hamid-Reza Moradi Sarvestani is one of the imprisoned Dervishes, whose wife, Sedighe Khalili, was also present in this rally. She told Rooz: “Although police officers, including the plain-clothes police, had created a high-security atmosphere before we gathered there, the rally ended with promises made by Seyyed Kazem Mousavi, who introduced himself as the minister’s representative.”
Noting the officials’ frequent but unfulfilled promises and criticizing the present situation, Mrs. Khalili insisted that, if their demands are not addressed after the one week deadline, Dervishes will rally again in front of Ministry of Justice.
These Dervishes who went to Tehran from different cities in Iran staged a protest rally in front of Ministry of Justice; however, they were treated violently and hundreds of them were detained. The last week rallies ended with officials’ promise to address their demands.
This round of rallies have been in support of the nine Dervishes on hunger strike in different prisons in Iran since August, 31, objecting to “the undesirable conditions in prison” and “the security-oriented approach adopted toward the Dervish community”.
Majzooban Noor, which is one of the few news agencies affiliated to Nematollahi Gonabadi Dervishes in Iran, could not be accessed for hours during the Sunday rally of this religious minority. According to its editor-in-chief, this website has been blocked over 40 times since 2007.
Farhad Nouri said “There have also been frequent cyber-attacks on the Majzooban Noor server since September, 2011. Three of these attacks resulted in lack of access to the website for several hours. Friends helped resolve the problem.”
Pressure on the community of Gonabadi Dervishes has intensified since a decade ago, and heavy sentences have been imposed on many, some of whom are now in prison.