August 92
Mohammad Ghanbari, a follower of the Yarsan religion and a resident of Qareh Dash Takhtestan in Qazvin, set himself on fire in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Tehran in protest against discrimination against the Yarsan people and the government’s neglect of their problems. He passed away in Motahhari Hospital in Tehran due to severe injuries. Every year, his anniversary ceremony is held under strict security measures. However, before the first anniversary ceremony in August 93, Qareh Dash Cemetery, where Mohammad was buried, was destroyed by construction equipment overnight. And on the third anniversary of his death in August 95, the road leading to the ceremony site was blocked by government forces and dirt was poured by a loader. The cemetery has been leveled and walls have been built around it multiple times by the people to accommodate the participants of the ceremony, but it has been destroyed by government forces.

September 1992
The people’s efforts to gain the government’s attention are not yielding any results. Many followers of the Yarsan religion from cities such as Khorramabad, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, Qasr-e Shirin, Tabriz, Qazvin, and Zanjan travel to Tehran. They gather in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and shout their demands. It doesn’t take long for security forces to intervene and arrest dozens of men and women. They are first taken to the central Tehran office and then transferred to Evin Prison. Immediately, a meeting is held with Ali Larijani in attendance. Siavash Hayati, a representative of the Yarsan Consultative Assembly who was present at the meeting with Ali Larijani, tells Rooz Online, “Mr. Larijani promised to follow up on our demands and in the end, one person from our side and one person from the head

December 2013
The military attack on the people of Yarsan in Nurabad, Lorestan, resulted in the residents of Yarsan being placed under inspection and pressure by government officials, and they were subjected to difficult conditions. The cities of Kuhdasht and Nurabad in Lorestan province are home to a large number of believers in the Yarsan faith.

April 1993
Hekmat Safari, a conscript soldier serving in the village of Qaleh Zanjir in the Gohvareh district of Kermanshah, who was stationed at the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Bijar city, committed suicide with his service weapon due to insults and mistreatment by his superiors. Before his suicide, he contacted his family and informed them of his decision. In the same year, in April, the authorities confiscated and prevented the installation of a tombstone for Hekmat by the intelligence forces.
July 1993
Ali Ashraf Rahmani, a citizen of Savah who was detained during a protest in front of the parliament in September 1992, was arrested by intelligence forces while he was visiting the parliament to follow up on his case.

August 93
Six followers of your religion were arrested by security forces in the city of Hamedan and transferred to an unknown location. The names of the detainees are as follows: Einollah Yari and his children named Pegah Yari and Amirhossein Yari, Mojtaba Norouzi, Bahrali Farhadi and his wife Saharnaz Afrouzi. It should be noted that Amirhossein Yari was only 14 years old at the time of his arrest and is considered a child.

September 93
Amin Abbasi, a member of the Yarsan Civil Society Advisory Council, was summoned and interrogated by the Kermanshah security police for the third time and was detained for a few hours. Security officials accused him of “promoting the Ahl-e Haq sect”. He had previously posted on Facebook: “The ruling system in Iran calls the Yarsan people dead, but we must show that we are alive and we will defend our legal rights and will not give up until the end and we will build the future of Yarsan as we want, not as they want.”

November 93
Jahangir Salimi and Vahid Faroudi, two followers of the Yaran faith, were abducted by several armed and plainclothes officers in front of Razi University in Kermanshah. They were stopped by plainclothes officers as they were leaving the university and forcibly taken into a vehicle after a few moments. Sabahan Rahimi, another Yaran follower, was also beaten by these forces. This action took place after the Yaran followers’ Eid Khavankari celebration.

In December 2014, Amir Rajabi, a follower of the Yarsan religion, was transferred to solitary confinement in Zahedan Central Prison for refusing to follow the orders of prison officials to shave his beard. He went on a hunger strike in protest.

In September 2015, two followers of the Yarsan religion were arrested. Amin Eihavand and Mojgan Abbasbashi were detained in front of Bu-Ali University in Hamedan and were forcefully taken to an unknown location by two armed vehicles. Their blog, “Sufi Jam Khaneh,” was also confiscated and blocked. This blog contained information about the Yarsan religion. At the same time, the families of some Yarsan activists living outside of the country were interrogated. The father of the writer of this article has been summoned multiple times by the intelligence office in Bijar and has been under interrogation. At least in my hometown and among acquaintances, I know several people who have been interrogated and pressured by the intelligence organization for various reasons, but unfortunately, I am not allowed to disclose their names.

In the month of Esfand 1394 (February/March 2016), a group of several hundred people who called themselves “followers of the guardianship” attacked the only remaining Jamkhaneh (place of worship) in Shahabad Kermanshah. They broke the windows of the building and caused damage to its structure and facilities, while also physically assaulting many of the residents of the town. These individuals were supported by security forces and police officers who were present at the scene, chanting slogans such as “this deviant sect must be destroyed.” They also humiliated and mocked the residents of Shahabad by placing fake and ugly symbols in front of the government forces. After this incident, the civil activists of the town demanded to hold a protest in front of the Kermanshah governor’s office, but their request was denied. Shahabad used to have several Jamkhanehs, but one by one they were closed down after the establishment of the Islamic Republic,

July 2016
Simultaneous with President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to Kermanshah, three activists of the Yarsan movement sewed their lips shut until the end of the President’s trip and went on a day of silence. This unprecedented action was taken in protest against the deprivation and violation of the rights of the Yarsan people. Mr. Siavash Hayati, Amin Abbasi, and Noushad Taheri were summoned and interrogated by security forces for this action.

August 95
Siyavash Kolyai, an activist and resident of Takestan, Qazvin, was summoned and arrested by Qazvin security police after the third anniversary of the commemoration of Mohammad Qanbari in the village of Gharehdash, Takestan, Qazvin. He was charged with “disturbing public order.” In addition, in July 95, a group of lawyers wrote an open letter to Hassan Rouhani on the occasion of the anniversary of the chemical bombing of the village of Zardeh Dalahoo in Kermanshah, expressing the problems of the victims and demanding attention to their situation. The people of Zardeh village are followers of the Yarsan religion. This village was targeted by Saddam’s chemical bombs on July 31, 1988, four days after the acceptance of Resolution 598 and the declaration of the end of the war, resulting in the death of 375 people and over 120

April 1996
A wide range of volunteers who believed in the Yarsan religion were disqualified by the election monitoring committees from running for city and village councils. In fact, in the city of Hashtgerd, only about 93% of Yarsani candidates were able to pass the filter of the election monitoring committee. It should be noted that unlike parliamentary elections, the qualifications of city council candidates are not reviewed by the Guardian Council, but rather by a committee composed of government-controlled forces, including the registration office, the judiciary, the police, and the Ministry of Intelligence, who make decisions about the candidates. In Islam Abad Gharb, some Yarsani candidates, including one of the active Yarsani activists named Farzad Almasi and close to the Consultative Assembly of Civil Activists, were disqualified due to their civil activities and protests against the violation of the rights of Yarsani people.

March 2018
The complete lack of information about the fate of Paiman Pedarvand has left his family devastated. Paiman is a human rights activist who was arrested by security forces in Mehrshahr, Karaj in December 2017, and his family had no knowledge of his whereabouts. Mr. Pedarvand has been previously arrested multiple times in the past years for his activism and defense of citizens’ rights.

June 98
Mitra Estad was killed by Mohammad Ali Najafi, former mayor of Tehran. Mitra Estad was a follower of the Yarsani religion in Kermanshah, who was murdered by a former government minister. In interrogations, Najafi claimed that Mitra had converted to Islam and he was sure of her conversion before marrying her. However, he later stated that “in my opinion, her [Mitra’s] apostasy was proven.” Abbas Tahmasbi Zadeh wrote in a controversial tweet, “I have heard that Mitra Estad is a Yarsani, and if this claim is true, according to the fatwas of some authorities, followers of this religion are not considered Muslims. Assuming this claim is true and that one of the conditions for retribution is equality between the killer and the victim in religion, the possibility of retribution for Najafi is denied and he will be sentenced to blood money and punishment.” As a result

December 2019
Siyavash Hayati, the spokesperson for the Consultative Assembly of Civil Activists, was arrested by security forces in Kermanshah and transferred to an unknown location. He had previously been deprived of continuing his education and presenting his thesis at Razi University in Kermanshah due to his activities in the Assembly of Civil Activists and his religious beliefs. Mr. Hayati had entered the Master’s program in Political Science at Razi University with a scholarship and was eligible to continue his studies for a PhD without an entrance exam. In an interview with Harana, he had previously stated about his deprivation from education: “In early Ordibehesht (April-May), my theoretical courses had started and my proposal and thesis had been approved. During the registration process for defending my thesis, I was told that I also had to extract and present an article from my thesis. When I followed up, the officials said that, based on a confidential

December 2019
Officials at Savojbolagh Prison forcibly shaved one of the prisoners, Javad Ahmadi, who is a follower of the Yarsanism faith. This act was done with the intention of humiliating and disrespecting the Yarsan community. This type of public humiliation is a form of torture against Yarsan followers, which has been repeatedly carried out by government officials and agents. After this bitter incident, widespread protests erupted among Yarsan people, with thousands participating in online campaigns and collecting physical and electronic signatures. As usual, and as promised by government officials in the past, this act was never implemented.

What has been described is only a part of the injustices that have been committed against Yarsan people during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani. The cases mentioned have been reflected in local media and sources, but unfortunately there are many other cases of oppression and discrimination that are not being reported due to the fear and threats faced by the victims. The laws in