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Growing pressure and arrests of Gonabadi dervishes, following the murder of Dervish “Martyr Vahid Banani

 


InsideofIran – In the last week, there has been growing pressure on the Gonabadi’s Sufi Order. As a result of the attacks to Gonabadi Sufis, severely injuring and arresting them, one of  the dervishes called Vahid Banani, who was gunshot in one of his main arteries, died in Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, on 6th September 2011.

Also the pressure has increased to dervishes’ lawyers. In the past few days, three lawyers, a group of administrators and supervisors of one of the News websites for dervishes have been arrested.

In follow-up to the press boycott on different religious groups in Iran, the followers of Nematollahi Gonabadi Sufi Order have been under heavy pressure by the Intelligent Security Forces.

A tight security atmosphere prevailing in the city of Sarvestan due to “Martyr Vahid Banani” funeral.

It has been reported that the Martial Law has been extended from Kovar to Sarvestan and the security of the city is very tight.

According to witnesses’ reports from Kovar, fifteen special Police Force cars and three coaches of armed Security Forces have been escorting the body of “Martyr Vahid Banani” from Shiraz to Sarvestan, for his funeral service.

The security forces have threatened the family of Vahid Banani that “if anyone except the family participate in the funeral, they will be faced with brutal force”. They have also been warned they would take the body of Vahid Banani and bury it in an unknown location.

In continuing the curfews in Estate of Fars cities, all entrances and exits to the cities are being controlled by the security and plainclothes forces. They are also restricting dervishes from entering to the city of Sarvestan in order to prevent them from participating in Vahid Banani funeral.

Ignoring the wounded Dervishes complaints and not addressing to their conditions.

Three other Gonabadi Dervishes (Ibrahim Fazli, Asghar Karimi, Mohammad Ali Saadi ), who were also shot by the security forces, are now in a very critical condition.

Currently due to pressure of security forces, the doctors and nurses have not been able to treat the wounded dervishes. The security forces have handcuffed them to the hospital beds and their families are forbidden to visit them or even to take them to a different hospital.

Furthermore, the wounded raised objections to the authorities for ignoring their complaints against the security forces, for unlawfully shooting, attacking and severely injuring them.

In reaction to this report, the families of the wounded dervishes have expressed their concerns regarding the transfer of the wounded in their serious physical condition from the hospital to the prison.

Arresting the lawyers of Gonabadi Dervishes.

Following the ongoing, systematic arrests of Gonabadi’s Sufi lawyers, Mr Omid Behrouzi, as one of Gonabadi Sufis’ lawyer was arrested by the security and plainclothes secret agents, on Wednesday 7th of September at 10: 00 am, from Gole Sourkh Roundabout in Shiraz. His arrest was without any legal warrant and Mr Behrouzi’s car was confiscated by the Police.

Mr Omid Behrouzi’s license to practice law was suspended by the judiciary system in the time the Sufis Worship House in Qom was demolished.

The latest updates on the conditions of the administrators of one of the dervishes news websites

The dervishes who have been unlawfully arrested by the security and plainclothes agents on early morning of Monday 5th September, are now transferred to Evin prison. Up to this point there is no news about their conditions and why they have been arrested.

Due to pressure of the dervishes’ family on Evin prison authorities, they have been told that the dervishes are “in a security section of Evin prison, and are not allowed to have any visitors”.

The follow up to the reports, dervishes are forbidden to have lawyers and are under pressure.

The Security Forces attacked the house of the director of Maste Yar website.

On Wednesday 7th September at 2:00pm the security forces with a warrant from court, entered the house of the director of Maste Yar website. By using force and terror to his family, they confiscated all his computers, mystical books and pictures of the masters of Gonabadi Sufi Order.

Although the director of the website Mast Yar was absent at the time, the security forces harassed and abused his family.

Report by The International Organisation To Preserve Human Right in Iran” (IOPHRI)