Asghar Karimi, a Gonabadi dervish, was arrested in Fars Province and transferred to Adel Abad Prison on Tuesday March 15.
Reports from Sarvestan indicate that Karimi was summoned by the court and later arrested without an official statement of the charges against him.
Two days ago, Ibrahim Fazli and Mohammed Ali Saadi, another two Gonabadi dervishes, were arrested by the police.
In 2011, the Gonabadi dervishes in Kavar were attacked by a number of assailants and one was shot in the leg. The complaints by the dervishes only led to their arrest.
Last year, 35 dervishes were charged with “participation in fighting, assault and battery and disturbing public order” based on complaints filed by 113 members of the Basij and the clergy in Fars Province, and they were sentenced to prison or fines.
Gonabadi dervishes have consistently protested persecution by Basij members, who have been rallied against them in Kavar by four local members of the clergy.
