Tehran MP Accuses IRGC Intelligence Arm Of Violations
Tehran’s representative in parliament has criticized the intelligence arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), accusing it of rights abuses.
In an open letter reformist MP Mahmoud Sadeghi has called upon IRGC intelligence director, mid-ranking cleric Hossein Ta’ib to “revise his style of management,” noting that his subordinates ignore the legal standards set for investigations and neglect the legitimate and lawful rights of detainees.
According to the letter, published on Sadeghi’s Telegram channel on April 21, the reformist MP said his constituents frequently complain about the behavior of the IRGC’s intelligence unit during various stages of detention and interrogation.
The IRGC’s Intelligence Organization, closely tied to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, operates parallel to President Hassan Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry.
Considered the most fearsome intelligence entity in Iran, the IRGC unit expanded its dominance after the so-called reformist Mohammad Khatami won the presidential election in 1997. It has since detained scores of political and civil rights activists, including individuals affiliated with the religious-national activists and Iran Freedom Movement.
It played a pivotal role in suppressing widespread unrest and protests against the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. At the same time, Khamenei issued an edict promoting the IRGC intelligence apparatus to the level of an organization practically on par with the government’s Intelligence Ministry.
However, analysts and legal experts maintain that the existence of the Intelligence Organization — and specifically its interference in cases related to espionage — explicitly violates the Iranian Constitution.
Tehran MP and deputy parliamentary speaker Ali Motahari has said espionage and counterespionage operations are the exclusive domain of the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC has no legal right to interfere.
Khamenei’s approved organization has detained several people charged with espionage, including Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, an Iranian accountant and member of Rouhani’s delegation in Tehran’s nuclear talks with global powers that led to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015.
IRGC intelligence agents detained several prominent environmentalists on January 24, including the Iranian-Canadian founder of Iran’s Wildlife Heritage, Kavous Seyyed-Emami. Two weeks later, it was announced that Seyyed-Emami had committed suicide at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, an allegation that Seyyed-Emami’s friends and family categorically rejected.
Read More: Radio Farda – Tehran MP Accuses IRGC Intelligence Arm Of Violations
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Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights
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