Two Brothers Following Yarsan Faith from Sahneh City Arrested Again

According to human rights sources, two brothers following the Yarsan faith and previously sentenced to open prison, were arrested again after reporting daily to the "Cheshmeh Sefid" prison in Kermanshah. As reported by the "Kurdpa" website, Pourya Monti Manjagtappeh and Shoja Monti Manjagtappeh, brothers from Sahneh city in Kermanshah province, were arrested on Wednesday, June 13, and transferred to the detention center of the Intelligence Department of Kermanshah province. No news has been published regarding the reason for the re-arrest of these two individuals who were serving their sentences in open prison. The Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, describes "open prisoners" as convicts who, exempt from imprisonment during the day, can serve their sentences through vocational training or working in industrial, service, and agricultural sectors by posting bail. Pourya Monti Manjagtappeh and Shoja Monti Manjagtappeh were arrested and tried in November 2022 for participating in the 21st anniversary ceremony of the death of Khalil Alinajad, an artist from the Yarsan community. According to the Hengaw human rights organization, these two Yarsan members were sentenced by the second branch of the Kermanshah Criminal Court to one year in prison and 74 lashes for "disturbing public order" through commotion and "causing intentional injury." Reza (Gholamreza) Rasayi, a Kurdish citizen and follower of the Yarsan faith, is currently facing the death penalty. The pressures of the Islamic Republic on ethnic and religious minorities in Iran have always been criticized by human rights organizations and activists. Previously, Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, criticized the "very disastrous situation of ethnic and religious minorities" in Iran, emphasizing that the rights of minorities, "including Christian converts, Sufis, dervishes, and Yarsan," are continuously violated. Amnesty International has called for an "immediate halt" to the execution of Reza Rasayi. Ibrahim Firoozi, a Christian convert and former political prisoner, died "due to a heart attack." In an exclusive interview with VOA, Javaid Rehman stated that the people of Iran have the courage to resist against the Islamic Republic. Two Yarsan civil activists have been deprived of "meeting with family and lawyer" 50 days after their arrest.