Amir Hossein Haghjooyan Arrested by Security Forces

On September 23, 2024, Amir Hossein Haghjooyan, a relative of Reza Rasaei, an executed protester, was arrested by security forces in Sahneh County, Kermanshah province, and transferred to an undisclosed location.

A source close to the family confirmed to HRANA: “Mr. Haghjooyan was detained by several members of IRGC Intelligence in Sahneh and moved to an unknown location.”

As of now, no details have emerged regarding the reasons for his arrest or the charges he may face.

Haghjooyan is the son of Kheirallah Haghjooyan, a member of the Yarsan Civil Activists Consultative Assembly, and a cousin and close companion of Reza Rasaei, who was executed in August 2023.

It’s important to note that Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei, arrested during the 2022 nationwide protests, was secretly executed at dawn on August 6, 2023, in Dizelabad Prison, Kermanshah, without prior notice to his family or a final meeting with them.

Yarsanism, also known as Ahl-e Haqq, is a syncretic faith founded in western Iran during the 14th century by Sultan Sahak. As a religious minority, followers of Yarsan often face systemic persecution and harassment by Iranian authorities.

Reza Rasaei Receives Death Sentence Amidst Controversial Charges

Reza Rasaei, one of the participants in the 2022 nationwide protests, has been sentenced to death by the Criminal Court of Kermanshah in connection with a legal case related to the “killing of the head of the IRGC’s intelligence of Sahneh County.”

According to Kurdpa, Rasaei has been found guilty of involvement in the death of Nader Beirami, the head of the IRGC’s intelligence in Sahneh County. Additional charges against Rasaei include causing non-lethal injuries, using a knife, and disrupting public order.

Critically, the court’s decision appears to have relied on a confession extracted under duress during Rasaei’s detention.

Rasaei was apprehended on November 24, 2022, by the police and subsequently detained in Sahneh County. After completing the interrogation process, he was transferred to Dizel-Abad prison in Kermanshah.

Several other protesters involved in a demonstration on November 18, 2022, are also facing charges related to their alleged role in the death of the IRGC’s intelligence officer. During this protest, several protestors were also killed by police and security forces.

Reza (Gholamreza) Rasaei, aged 34, is known as a Yarsan follower and a resident of Sahneh County.

At Least 30 Yarsani Followers Arrested

Many Yarsani believers have been arrested in the recent week, 30 of whom have been identified.

On November 18, 2022, at least 30 Yarsani followers were arrested in Sahneh county of Kermanshah Province during the twenty-first commemoration of Khalil Alinejhad, a well-known Yarsani figure who was killed in 2001.

An informed source told HRANA, “the security forces present at the commemoration turned this event violent by shooting and using tear gas.” At Least 30 people have been arrested and taken to an unknown place.

The names of those arrested during this event are as follows:

Kaki Saeed Almasi
Siavash Kaliani
Kamyab Heidari
Seyed Ali Dakei
Seyed Shahoo Shah-Ebrahimi
Afshin Azimi
Meysam Azimi
Hamid Zandi Nejhad
Navid Hassanlou
Seyed Foad Shah-Ebrahimi
Faezeh Ranai
Naghi Rahmani
Masoum Razavi
Hamid Afshari
Rashid Mohammadi
Bardia Tajdini
Meraj Hemmati
Amin Malekzade
Farzad Rahmatabadi
Seyed Fariborz Shah-Ebrahimi
Noshad Taheri
Ali Nazari
Seyed Farhad Zalnouri
Seyed Fereydoun Taheri
Mohammad Bahrami
Ghadir Rahimi
Hamid Gorgin
Mehr-Ali Hemmati
Nemat Pourvali
Shahrouz Esmaeili