Health plummets for jailed dervishes on hunger strike

Two of the jailed Iranian dervishes on hunger strike are reportedly in a state of critical health. The Majzooban-e Noor website reports that Kasra Nouri. on the fourteenth day of his hunger strike in Shiraz Nezam Prison, is now experiencing “impaired speech and physical weakness.”

The report indicates that this is the third time Nouri has gone on a hunger strike in the past year. Nouri took up his latest hunger strike in solidarity with eight dervishes in Evin Prison. They are all protesting their mistreatment by prison authorities. The group previously had gone on a 90-day hunger strike, during which Nouri lost a significant amount of weight.H

is family has expressed grave concern over his health, reporting that he has not even been able to appear in the visiting room to meet with his kin.

The report also indicates that Omid Behrouzi, one of the Gonabadi dervishes being held in Evin Prison, is also reported to have reached a critical stage in his health due to the hunger strike.

Behrouzi is a lawyer and dervish rights activist; however, his licence to practice law was cancelled because of his efforts to defend dervishes after the attack on their Sufi religious site in Qom

ZAMANEH