MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA Police Chief Demands Death for Sufi Protestors

OE Watch Commentary: On the evening of 25 February 2018, a Sufi protest against “The events of 25 February originated religious repression in and the detention of some of their members in a local police station turned violent when police moved in and clashed with the Gonabadi (Sufi) overseas and on counter-revolutionary dervishes. During the ensuing fighting, a bus allegedly driven by a member of the Sufi order and, separately, a car plowed through the assembled police killing three members [internet] sites.” of the Law Enforcement Forces and two members of the paramilitary . Some Source: “Majazat ‘Amal Shehadat Mamoran reports suggested that one of the officers killed had also been stabbed. The violence Naja dar Khiaban Pasdaran qabl az payan sal” injured an additional 30 members of the law enforcement community. (“Punishment before the end of the year for those In the excerpted article from Fars , a hardline government news who Martyred the Agents of the Law Enforcement outlet, the head of the Law Enforcement Forces for greater Tehran announces his Forces in Pasdaran Street”), Fars News Agency, 28 expectation that the judiciary will expedite the execution of those allegedly responsible February 2018. http://www.farsnews.com/newstext. for running over police and Basij with vehicles. The entire episode is revealing on a php?nn=13961209002058 number of levels. Firstly, despite the Iranian government’s rhetoric of social justice General Hossein Rahimi, in a conversation with and democracy, it shows lack of judicial independence. Secondly, while political the correspondent from Fars News Agency, said divisions within Iranian society are often depicted as between hardliners and reformers the punishment for the martyrdom of the Law and religious divisions are portrayed as sectarian—Sunni vs Shi’ite Muslims, for Enforcement Forces should be announced before example—it is also important to recognize the growing influence and power of the Eid. The head of the capital’s police said, Sufism inside Iran (and, for that matter, inside Saudi Arabia where a Sufi underground “With the coordination of the Judiciary, and for the exists in the Hijaz). That Sufis not only rallied in the heart of Tehran but also fought healing of the families of the martyrs of the incident back violently against the Law Enforcement Forces and the Basij shows that anger on Pasdaran Street, the person who killed three percolates not far below the surface of the Islamic Republic. That the video of the bus of the officers of the Tehran Police Commander’s running down police went viral in Tehran suggests popular curiosity about dissent and Assistant Unit should be hanged before the Eid.” could spark copy-cat acts of violence. It is necessary to mention that General Rahimi The arrests of more than 300 Gonabadis may backfire, as could the execution of announced at the funeral of the Pasdaran martyrs the bus and car drivers accused of running over police and Basij, since they could that the events of 25 February originated overseas create more grievance and provide martyrs around which to rally. Based on Rahimi’s and on counter-revolutionary [internet] sites, comments in the article, it does not appear that the Iranian government is prepared and said, “For our dear martyrs, we demand to address Gonabadi grievances. His decision to blame external actors fits the punishment for the driver of the bus and Samand conspiratorial template often used by the Iranian government, but does little to address car.” the root causes of discord. End OE Watch Commentary (Rubin)

The Aftermath of Rioting on Pasdaran Street on the evening of 19-20 February 2018. هتشذگ-بش-یریگرد-زا-دعب-نارادساپ-نابایخ-ریواصت/Source: .com, fararu.com/fa/news/349636 OE Watch | April 2018 24