Mostafa Daneshjoo, a Gonabadi dervish, was released on Monday May 19 after four years in jail.
The Majzooban-e Noor website reports that Daneshjoo’s release order was served on him in hospital, where he was under treatment for asthma and pulmonary complications.
In a video message, Daneshjoo reacted to his release, saying: “Years of incarceration have now passed and they served me in strengthening my determination to persevere on the path that I have chosen.”
He added: “I have not changed; we have to see whether those who have treated us in this manner have changed and recognized their errors.”
He expressed every hope that the tendency to treat dervishes as a security problem has been completely eliminated.
Five more dervishes remain behind bars in Evin and Shiraz prisons, while another seven are serving exile sentences in Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchistan provinces.