Police Arrest 79 Tour Group Members for 'Promoting Mysticism'

The Gilan chief of police has confirmed the arrest of 79 members of a tour group in the northern Iranian province, accusing them of "promoting new mysticism."

Azizollah Maleki said on Sunday that police had “taken them [the group] by surprise” while they were holding "superstitious circles and promoting false mysticism" in a remote forest area outside a city.

The detainees, he said, included 27 women and 52 men. During an inspection of the site, he said, a number of leaflets promoting “superstitious content and corruption” as well as some drugs were found.  

Police raided the location after learning about the event online, saying the group had “received money and set up illegal excursions... propagating and promoting new false mysticism”.