Three Sufis arrested a year ago in Iranian Azerbaijan are about to be executed after a court sentenced them to death. Jahan Ali Mohammadi, Bakhsh Ali Mohammadi and Abdullah Ghassemzadeh - who were detained in the jail of Urumieh, in western Iran - have been transferred to an unknown location. Detainees facing the death penalty in the Islamic Republic are usually transferred shortly before execution.The three Sufis belonged to the school of Ahl Haq and were arrested a year ago in Miandoab.
Last week, police raided a Sufi mosque in Qom, a holy city for Muslim Shiites, and reportedly arrested over a thousand people. Three hundred Sufis are still in jail.
Ever since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won presidential elections last July, pressure on religious minorities, including Islam's, has increased significantly.
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