Eleven members of a Sufi sect in Iran were convicted in unfair trials in Iran and country's judiciary should abandon charges and quash the verdicts against them, the Human Rights Watch website reported.
According to the HRW report, the evidence suggests that all 11 were prosecuted and convicted solely because of their peaceful activities on behalf of the largest Sufi order in Iran or in connection with their contributions to a news website dedicated to uncovering rights abuses against members of the order.
"It seems that authorities targeted these members of one of Iran's most vulnerable minorities because they tried to give voice to the defense of Sufi rights," Middle East advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, Tamara Alrifai said.
On July 18, four of the defendants learned that Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz had sentenced them to prison terms ranging from one year to three years, followed by periods of internal exile, which bars them from living in their hometowns, the report said.
On July 10, a revolutionary court in Tehran announced prison sentences against seven Sufis ranging from 7,5 to 10,5 years. They were banned from social, legal, and journalistic activities related to the Sufi order for five years after their release. All are in Tehran's Evin Prison.
The report further says refering to the Majzooban-e Noor website, to which some of the defendants contributed, that the defendants in the Tehran case have refused to file appeals in protest against numerous pre-trial irregularities and ill-treatment in detention by Intelligence Ministry agents.
According to the HRW report, Tamara Alrifai said that there is plenty of evidence suggesting that the judiciary prosecuted these defendants solely because of their peaceful activities on behalf of their Sufi order.
"In light of these serious irregularities, there is no justifiable reason to keep these defendants behind bars," she said.