Because of the conflict between Nematollahi Dervishes and the advocates of a theology student in the city of Kavar, arrests of Nematollahi Dervishes were still going on in this city on Monday, September the fifth.

This happens while two of the attorneys of Nematollahi Dervishes, “Ali Islami” and “Afshin Karampoor” along with “Qolamreza Shirzad”, a university assistant and some of his companions who went to this city to negotiate with the governor, had also been arrested.

According to “Farshid Yadollahi”, 40 of Nematollahi Dervishes and believers have been arrested on Sunday by the police and the security forces and transferred to prison.The clash began when, according to some Dervishes who live in Kavar, the theology student resident  of this city, published statements against Dervishes inviting people to deal with the disciples believers.

This provocation caused a protest movement against Nematollahi Dervishes by some of the participants in the Friday prayer in this city who started throwing stones to dervishes places. The conflict led to  violence and confrontation between Dervishes and other residents of this city. Upon the arrival of counter-insurgency forces throwing tear gas to the Dervishes homes, the clash took a more serious shape. On the other hand, some of the News sites in Iran mentioned on Friday that the conflict started with firearms.

But after the clashes it seems that the police and intelligence services have started to go to Dervishes place to arrest them. On Saturday, September 3, these forces went to arrest “Shahbaz Zareh” and “Amanolah Cheraghi” and because they were not home, they have arrested their fathers.

Also, on Sunday, in the early hours of the morning, they arrested “Abdolreza Arayesh”, another Dervish in this city. It was announced in the News that if other Dervishes by solidarity with their coreligionists come toward this town, they will be controlled by the disciplinary forces. Some reports even point out the arrest of more than twelve of these people upon their arrivals. According to a site supporting Dervishes, on Sunday, September 4, there has been a clash between Gonabadi Dervishes of Saevestan who wanted to come to Kavar and plainclothes security forces. In this clash, five Dervishes, Ebrahim Fazli, Asghar Karimi, MohammadAli Saidi, Vahid Banaii and another person have been targets of security forces gun shots.

I had a dialogue with Farshid Yadollahi, about the latest events in the city of Kavar and arrest of two of these Dervishes’ attorneys in Shiraz:

It has been a couple of days that news about clashes between Nematollahi Dervishes with some people have been heard. Please explain what happened in this city.

A young student in Theology in the city of Kavar has been provoking people and Basiji forces for a long time against the dervishes. On Friday, the Basiji forces and students in Theology consistently provocative took to the streets and ended up being violent and attacked the shops and homes of dervishes, so it led to the conflict. Dervishehs has a ceremony on Friday nights that they wanted to hold. The Governor of Kavar invited my colleagues, Mr. Islami, Mr. Karampoor and Mr. Shirzadi to talk about the security of the city with them but they were arrested once they arrived to the legate.

This afternoon also, when the assembly of Dervishes was held, a number of dervishes was arrested at the entrance and the dervishes who were coming into the city were shot at. Five of them were wounded and one of them is in a critical condition.

Some of the news agencies close to the government such as Tabnak and several other said that  dervishes had opened fire on people. Do you confirm this news?

I am not in the region and I cannot confirm this but I have heard that the Plainclothes and Basijis were present in the clashes and shooting came from them.

Security forces, plainclothes and Basijis are everywhere and interrogate people as they want, they ask their ID, they photography people, they arrest people and it is not clear on whose name they take these measures.

Dervishes seek neither conflict nor chaos. They have been celebrating in this town for a long time and had no conflict with anyone. This is all these fossilized people against mysticism who with their irrational ideas have created the atmosphere of turmoil in this region. I have heard that 40 people have been arrested.

Do you have any idea of the number of Dervishes who live in Kavar?

I do not know the exact number but they are over 2,000.

Mr. Yadollahi! previously also in different cities we have witnessed clashes of this kind. Have Nematollahi Dervishes ever attempted by a clear and specific complaint to the judicial system to prevent these kind of nonlegal movements?

Dervishes have repeatedly denounced these problems to the officials of the regime. Even in a letter to the leadership, judicial officials, the interior ministry and the President, asking them to be treated accordingly to the Constitution as Iranian citizen but unfortunately it was the dervishes who were   accused and no one considered their complaints.

As always, they provoke Dervishes and they create situations, they make dervishes look agitated on the contrary, and they make false news. But in reality, Dervishes have not done anything against anyone and just do their prayers and live as normal citizens.

Translated by Avideh Motmaen-Far

Source : Ardavan Roozbeh / Radio Koocheh