Pourya Mennati and Shoja Mennati, two Kurdish Yarsani brothers and political prisoners from Sahneh in Kermanshah Province, have been transferred to an undisclosed location after carrying out their daily reporting in Cheshmeh-ye Sefid prison in Kermanshah in recent days.
A source familiar with the matter spoke to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) and said: “Pourya and Shoja Mennati, who were arrested in November 2022 for taking part in protests during the 21st anniversary of the death of Seyed Khalil Alinezhad, a renowned artist and leader of the Yarsani community, and sentenced to one year in prison, had been serving their sentence in the open section of Cheshmeh-ye Sefid Prison for the past few months. They were required to report daily to the prison authorities, but were re-arrested by security forces and taken to an undisclosed location.”
The reason for the brothers’ arrest by security forces remains unknown.
The 18 November 2022 commemoration of Alinezhad turned into an anti-government protest, influenced by the nationwide demonstrations sparked by the government’s killing of Jina Mahsa Amini.
Military and security forces responded to protesters’ slogans with tear gas and gunfire, arresting many participants and maintaining a security lockdown in Sahneh for several days.
A day later, state news agencies reported that Nader Beyrami, a senior security official in Sahneh, had been killed during the protests.
The Mennati brothers were arrested along with other Yarsani civilians, including Reza Rasaei, in the ensuing crackdown in November and December 2022.
The brothers were sentenced to one year in prison and 74 lashes by Branch Two of Kermanshah Criminal Court on charges of “intentional assault” and “disturbing public order” through alleged uproar and commotion.
In recent months, their sentences were changed to open imprisonment, requiring them to work outside the closed prison and report daily to Cheshmeh-ye Sefid prison.
