The 2018 Dervish protests, which occurred in February and March 2018 in Tehran, led to clashes between security forces, and Dervishes, an Iranian Sufi group (Gonabadi Dervishes), protesting against the government, resulting in the bloody repression of protestors.[6] Tensions between Police, the IRGC, and the Basij with a number of Gonabadi Dervishes eventually led to the deaths of six people, the execution of Dervishes, and the arrest of hundreds of wounded Dervishes on March.[7]
The United States called the repression of the Dervishes the largest repression of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic, while the Ministry of Interior of Iran called the protests a plot to expand its scope to the national level by creating regional unrest.[8]
Background
The Gonabadi Dervishes are Sufi Muslims; the Iranian government considers them a threat.[9] Conversion to Sufism is frowned upon by the Shi'a religious establishment.[10]
In January 2012, at least 10 of the group's members were imprisoned in Fars province, and others may be held at Evin Prison in Tehran, including Kasra Nouri[10][11]
Protests
On 19 February, the Sufis organized a sit-in protest at a police station, located in the Pasdaran district of Tehran, where one of their members was held. Later, clashes broke out between the Sufi protestors and security forces. Police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the protesters. Five riot police were killed.[8]
According to the Iranian press, police arrested around 300 people, and there have been reports that some of the protesters may have been killed.[12] However, the Sufi dervishes gathered around the home of their 90-year-old leader Noor Ali Tabandeh to protect him from arrest.[9]
In the aftermath of the 19 February, protests, footage emerged that showed several Sufi protesters who were arrested, being tortured by government forces.[8]
On 4 March, it was revealed that one of the protesters had died under the custody of the Iranian government.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Six People Said Killed, 300 Arrests At Sufi Protest In Iran". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
- ^ Witschge, Loes. "Iran's Gonabadi Dervishes: A 'long history' of persecution". www.aljazeera.com.
- ^ "Five Iranian security officers killed at Sufi protest in Tehran". Archived from the original on 2018-02-20.
- ^ "'۱۷۰ نفر از دراویش گنابادی در بیمارستان بستری هستند'". BBC News فارسی. 26 February 2018.
- ^ "جزئیات جلسه کمیسیون امنیت ملی درباره حوادث گلستان هفتم/بازداشت ۳۶۰ نفر" [Details of the meeting of the National Security Commission on the events of the seventh Golestan / Detention of 360 people]. www.isna.ir (in Persian). 21 February 2018.
- ^ "UK Parliament Report 2020 – No prosperity without justice: the UK's relationship with Iran Contents".
- ^ "Iran: Dervishes Community Attacked by Security Forces". Iran Focus. 6 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "Iranian officers die in Sufi clashes". BBC News. 20 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Five Iranian security officers killed at Sufi protest in Tehran". Reuters. 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ a b "Gonabadi Dervish protest leaves 5 dead in Tehran". Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ "Kasra Nouri | Virtual Embassy of the United States Tehran, Iran". Iran.usembassy.gov. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ^ Witschge, Loes. "Iran's Gonabadi Dervishes: A 'long history' of persecution". Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ خبر, Manoto News – اتاق. "اتاق خبر". اتاق خبر. Retrieved 23 April 2018.