Shahin Sadeghzadeh Milan is a name.

The suppression of dervishes in the Islamic Republic has a long history. At first glance, the government’s treatment of a religious group whose fundamental beliefs do not differ significantly from the official religion of the country may seem surprising. However, the authoritarian nature of the Iranian government has repeatedly shown that it does not tolerate even minor religious or political differences. The Gonabadi dervishes have been facing the destruction of their Hussainiyahs and khaneqahs since the beginning of the revolution. They have also experienced deprivation of education and employment.

The conflicts that took place between government forces and Gonabadi dervishes in Bahman and Esfand of 1396 (February and March 2018) were unprecedented and caused the issue of dervishes to become a topic of discussion in society. In this article, I will discuss several aspects of this incident.

Restricting the activities of the dervishes.

The primary reason for the conflicts in the month of Bahman appears to be the government’s intention to restrict the activities of Noorali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes. Some of the dervishes gathered in front of his house to prevent any intrusion by government officials. The government’s motive for this action is unclear. Imposing restrictions on an individual without justifiable legal reasons is a violation of their rights and goes against international and domestic laws. No criminal charges have been issued against Noorali Tabandeh and no legal accusations have been made against him. Furthermore, house arrest is not recognized as a legal punishment in Iran. Therefore, the government’s initial actions to restrict him are a violation of his rights under international and domestic laws.

Accusing all Dervishes of extremism.

One of the most concerning events that occurred during the conflict between the dervishes and government forces was the spreading of general accusations against the dervishes in government media. The Mashregh website referred to the dervishes as a “shining sect,” alluding to their spiritual leader. The Kayhan newspaper referred to the dervishes as “Daesh scum.” Hashtags such as #deviant_sect and #dervish_daesh also emerged on social media by government supporters and were covered by outlets such as Tasnim. The trend of portraying members of a national, racial, religious, or ethnic group as a whole has often been a sign of the beginning of widespread oppression against that group. For example, before the genocide in Rwanda, the Tutsi ethnic group was commonly referred to as “cockroaches.” In other words, dehumanizing and giving a negative collective identity to a group sets the stage for their brutal suppression. Ultimately, individuals are responsible for

The border of non-violent struggle.

When the political system of a country is blocked, peaceful civil struggles are seen as a solution to overcome oppression and reclaim lost rights. However, for civil and human rights activists, the question arises: what should be the reaction of citizens when the government responds with violence to peaceful protests? The goal of resorting to peaceful methods is to avoid violence and prevent bloodshed, so retaliating against a violent government immediately removes peaceful struggle from its path. At the same time, surrendering to violence is also considered the end and defeat of the civil movement. Ideally, the oppressive force does not have the courage to confront a large number of citizens with violence. But when this force resorts to violence, what is the solution?

The right to self-defense is one of the natural rights that is considered among natural rights. It may be concluded that there is a right to self-defense against oppressive force. However, it should be noted that any legitimate defense must be proportionate to the initial threat. Defense also becomes relevant when faced with an immediate threat. In other words, if a person intending to defend themselves flees the scene and removes themselves from danger, but then returns to the scene and uses deadly force, their use of deadly force is not justified. Therefore, the actions of the individual who attacked law enforcement with a bus can not be considered a legitimate defense for at least two reasons: (1) it was disproportionate and (2) there was a time gap between the initial threat, which cannot be classified as a legitimate defense.

Mass arrest of beggars.

According to Farhad Noori, one of the activists of the Dervishes, the Harana News Agency has reported that nearly 350 men are detained in the large prison of Tehran and 11 women are detained in the Qarchak prison. The individual charges against these individuals are unclear. What is concerning is the government’s collective approach towards the detainees. As mentioned above, the responsibility for the trial process lies with the individual, which is important. Mass trials, such as the post-election trials of 2009, violate the rights of citizens. The establishment of such courts is indicative of a political will to suppress and eliminate any fair trial.

Death of Mohammad Raji in detention.

Mohammad Raji, one of the detainees of the Dervishes in the beginning of February 2018, passed away after being arrested. According to Mohammad Raji’s daughter, he was severely beaten during his arrest. Mohammad Raji’s family was unaware of his condition before his death. So far, no investigation has been conducted to determine whether he died as a result of torture or medical neglect after his arrest. This raises concerns about the situation of other detained Dervishes. According to reports, one of the Dervishes has been threatened that his wife will be raped if he does not cooperate with the government. The death of Mohammad Raji and mistreatment of the detainees is similar to the situation that occurred for protesters in December 2017. The Islamic Republic has not taken responsibility for investigating the cause of death of the detainees and prosecuting those responsible in any of these cases.

“Manager of the Legal Center for Human Rights Documents in Iran.”