Tuesday 12th of Shahrivar 1392 (3rd of September 2013) at night, Shiraz’s Adel-Abad prison intelligence unit officers raided Ebrat Ward, severely beat jailed Dervishes and forced them to shave off their facial hair.
According to Majzooban Noor, Kasra Nouri, Gonabadi Dervish rights activist along with Mohsen Esmaeeli, Seyed Ebrahim Bahrami, Mohammad-Ali Sadeghi and Mohammad-Ali Dehghan, Gonabadi Dervishes resident of Kavar town in Fars province have been severely beaten by prison intelligence unit officers on their face and stomach and their beards and mustache forcibly shaved.
According to one imprisoned Dervish, last week, on the day of conflicts at noon, Mr. Amjary, the head of Information Security,
had gone to Ebrat Ward with a shaver to force Dervishes shaving off their beards and whiskers for the purpose of humiliating them. But the Dervishes refused to do so. Then, Kasra Nouri as their delegate talked to deputy prison director in the case of that offensive action. After a few hours, under strict orders from prisons chief
prison, intelligence unit officers with batons suddenly attacked prisoners to shave the beards and mustaches of Gonabadi Dervishes. Dervishes were severely beaten by security forces and
were each taken and kept in separate sections including Ershad (dungeon), basement and solitary confinement for a day. During this period all prisoners in Adel-Abad Ebrat Ward, including Christians, Baha’is and…were deprived of the right to have any phone call
in order to increase the security atmosphere and avoid spreading the news about beating and insulting the Dervishes. Prison authorities still have no explanation for the cause of these aggressive and violent behaviors.

Yesterday, after the prison visit , the families of 5 Gonabadi Dervishes expressed grave concern over the health and wellbeing of them and demand immediate transfer of them to hospital due to severe abdominal injuries and their extreme fatigue and physical weakness. The families also call for accountability for the events of the last week.