When the judicial system itself is the tool of security forces in the field of political, civil, and trade activists – including the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards and others – the role of the judicial officer (whether “general” who can take initial judicial actions upon witnessing an obvious crime, or “specific” who can enter in special cases and missions assigned to them) is predetermined.

The judiciary in Iran, in the political, civil, and trade sectors, is a part of the oppressive machine and uses pressure and intimidation to control security and is based on “victory through fear” by the higher forces. The judicial officer is also needed in these areas for the same purpose, which is another part and tool of the overall system of control, intimidation, and oppression.

And this is the work that Basij, which was initially established with other goals and duties, has been engaged in for years. From the role of pressure force and undercover agent to the official uniformed agent in suppressing the Green Movement.

But about two and a half years ago, towards the end of the previous parliament’s term, they hurriedly passed a bill in an attempt to cover up this illegal behavior by seemingly making it legal. They included the Basij in the “special regulations” in criminal proceedings. Of course, this bill had even more excesses, some of which were even opposed by figures like Motahari and Tavakoli in that parliament (such as the requirement for Basij to be established in every residential and commercial complex, etc.).

After two and a half years of legalizing illegal behaviors of Basij in a ceremony held for issuing the card of one of the most important general regulations, namely the police force, it was announced that special cards for officers (possibly including Basij) have also been issued and will be delivered to them in a month.

Issuing a card for officers requires completing a training course. This means that even if a person from the law enforcement forces is faced with a clear crime, they cannot enter without this card. It is likely that the same process has been considered for specific officers as well. This is also true for Basij members who, as special officers, cannot interfere in these matters without having the special officer card, even though they are also judicial officers. Perhaps this relatively positive event is happening in the midst of negative and destructive processes. It is like a bowl of sweet water in a salty pond! And perhaps this is due to the many disorders and violations that have occurred in practice, or due to the chaos and confusion caused by the ignorance and “arson” of certain individuals, which has led to fundamental flaws in the cases that must be reviewed by judges later, forcing them to redo the work. Regardless of the motivations and consequences of conducting training courses and issuing cards for any reason, the fundamental issue is

In Iran, due to the dual structure of power (theocratic-republic) and the dominance of the theocratic sector over the elected sector, the “minority rules over the majority” and dictates its policies and approaches. The theocratic sector has also used the Guardian Council and supervisory tools to limit the power of the elected sector. However, in some elections, about two-thirds of the people have shown their will by voting for the furthest policy from the policies of the theocratic sector, using this winning weapon (supervision). This means that the majority of society is opposed to the policies of the most powerful share of power. As a result, the dominant sector of power is forced to constantly strategize to control the opinions and feelings of the majority of society, who are opposed to the smaller but more powerful sector of the system.

Censorship and propaganda bombardment are important tools used by the government to control society. Despite opposition from many conservative groups, the government maintains a tight grip on the media and is willing to accept limited oversight, which is not even granted to other branches of power. This dangerous dominance of the minority over the majority in Iranian society stems from the government’s control over the media.

One of the important tools in the security-intelligence sector is “control” and “suppression”. The ruling power in this area was also unable to tolerate even the Ministry of Intelligence’s assassins and executors of serial killings. Due to the fact that the Ministry of Intelligence is under the control of the government, sometimes it is influenced by the government’s opinions and desires, and its policies may be slightly biased towards the ruling power, and sometimes even enemies of the government may have access to its secrets; gradually, a parallel institution was formed. This parallel institution includes the intelligence of the Revolutionary Guards, the Judiciary and others, which gradually pushed the official Ministry of Intelligence to the margins. This is also a characteristic of the majority ruling over the minority in this system and land.

The information and security sector is in need of executive tools and operational systems to enforce the will of control and suppression. Basij is one of these important tools that is increasingly being utilized in this chaotic environment.

In this way, the Basij member who was supposed to be the people’s companion in difficult and challenging matters, the Basij member who was supposed to be the reserve force always ready to assist the military forces in defending the national borders, gradually turned into a powerful guard with calculated designs, in order to play multiple roles in various matters (such as suppressing intellectual, student, women, worker, employee, and ethnic gatherings) or to fulfill the orders of security and judicial forces, whether through buttons or brainwashing.

The power of the controller and suppressor also gradually needs its own specific order and structure. This administrative order and structure does not always work with chaos and turmoil. Therefore, a plan is presented to the parliament to harmonize and guide these actions in a legal manner and always provide legal approval, and perhaps bring order and organization to it. And this becomes the rule of the Basij. Otherwise, if the law enforcement forces did not have this responsibility, why should it be parallelized here as well?

The experience of the past four decades has shown that parallel structures in the construction of power are often used to circumvent laws and speed up the implementation of the will of higher authorities, as well as to conceal and hide certain matters. The Revolutionary Guards alongside the army, the intelligence of the Revolutionary Guards alongside the Ministry of Intelligence, and now the Basij alongside the law enforcement forces!

On this basis, there is always a special sensitivity in relation to the Basij (and Sepah) budget, and it is paid with maximum capacity and government resources according to upper-level orders.

This is why the most aggressive, closest, and most obedient person is always appointed to command the Basij pyramid in the political hierarchy.

It is in this path that educational camps and instructors of Basij are always chosen from the most extreme enemies of freedom and democracy, and the most loyal and fierce individuals and the most harsh and aggressive clerics.

Basij needs “brainwashing” to fulfill these multiple roles. Especially when there is a need to pick up a club to strike fellow citizens, neighbors, and locals, or when the foreign policy of the higher-ups requires sacrificing their lives and even defending dictatorships like Bashar al-Assad, who is kilometers away from his own country’s borders, becoming a victim of foolish and non-national policies and the ambitions of the higher-ups. He must be forcefully reminded that he is defending the shrine, not the criminal Assad.

“How far is this Basij from the beginning of the revolution, where it was a companion and supporter of the people in times of hardship, and a protector of the country’s borders against invasion. The people were aware and just, which is why they chanted the slogan “Real Basij; determination and bravery” in the midst of the Green Movement!”