Released filmmaker returns to visit dervishes’ families

Mohammad Nourizad, the Iranian filmmaker and journalist who was arrested on Monday in Shiraz, was released by Intelligence Ministry officials and transferred to Tehran.

The Majzooban-e Noor Website reports that Mohammad Nourizad returned to Shiraz as soon as he arrived in Tehran. The purpose of his trip to Shiraz was to meet with the families of jailed Gonabadi dervishes.

On Monday, Nourizad was reportedly arrested in Shiraz on his way to visit the Nouri family. Kasra Nouri, a Gonabadi dervish, has been jailed along with a number of other dervishes in recent years. Several dervish supporters were also arrested for attempting to bring about their release.

Nourizad has told Majzooban-e Noor that he had intended to return to Tehran after visiting the mothers of jailed dervishes. The intelligence officials prevented him from visiting the families; therefore, he told them that upon his return to Tehran, he would go directly back to Shiraz to make the visits as intended.

Nourizad has reportedly met with the mothers of the jailed dervishes. He has become a vocal critic of government policies and especially their treatment of activists. His critical letters to the Supreme Leader have landed him in jail on several occasions, and he was only released after several hunger strikes.