IRAN: SPAT BETWEEN POLICE AND IRGC SPILLS INTO PUBLIC VIEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RPO DUBAI 000047 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/24 TAGS: PGOV IR SUBJECT: IRAN: SPAT BETWEEN POLICE AND IRGC SPILLS INTO PUBLIC VIEW CLASSIFIED BY: Kathleen McGowan, Political Officer, DOS, IRPO; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: After being abruptly dismissed as Tehran police chief after only fourteen months, Azizullah Rajabzadeh told guests and the media present at his February 22 'retirement' ceremony that the police had played only a minor role in putting down the post-election unrest. Rajabzadeh asserted that his police had not killed or harmed any protestors, and that the IRGC had assumed full control of all security forces, including the police, by the time the conflict became violent. As if on cue, the next day a video of the infamous June 14 attack on Tehran University that left several students dead, emerged for the first time into public view. This professional quality videotaken by the security forces directly contradicts Rajabzadeh's contention that police had not been involved in brutal attacks against unarmed civilians: the start black-and-white footage shows uniformed police and unidentified plainclothes security agents working together to pry open a campus gate then round-up and beat unarmed students. Meanwhile, the police announced plans to install "monitoring systems" in detention facilities throughout the country to better protect detainees. END SUMMARY. Blame Game ¶2. (SBU) During farewell remarks at his February 22 retirement ceremony, departing Tehran Police Chief Azizullah Rajabzadeh hailed his force's performance during the post-election unrest and declared that police had not been responsible for any protestor deaths during the crackdown on post-election demonstrations. According to an ILNA article about his speech, Rajabzadeh said that following the June 15 demonstration, the IRGC's Sarallah Unit was given overall command of all security forces in Tehran, including the police. (NOTE: June 15, three days after the Presidential election, was the day an estimated one to three million gathered to protest the election results. END NOTE) In effect, Rajabzadeh publicly placed blame for excesses committed by security forces directly on the IRGC. Not So Fast ¶3. (SBU) One day after Rajabzadeh's speech, footage of the June 14 nighttime raid on a Tehran University dormitory surfaced publicly for the first time. Unlike the flood of amateur videos disseminated by protest participants or sympathetic witnesses, the 18-minute clip was clearly filmed by a member of the security forces with a professional camera. The stark black-and-white footage shows plainclothes security forces working hand-in-hand with uniformed police to pry open a university gate and attack unarmed students. At one point during the video, plainclothes officers urge police officers to exercise restraint during a particularly vicious attack on a student. (NOTE: Several students were killed in the raid, which elicited condemnation from senior government officials to include Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani. END NOTE) ¶4. (SBU) The announcement of Rajabzadeh's sudden 'retirement' after just 14 months as Tehran police chief was quickly followed by news that Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, whom semi-official news agency ILNA describe as a "close friend" of Rajabzadeh, is appointing Rajabzadeh to head Tehran's soon-to-be-created "Crisis Prevention and Management Organization." ¶5. (SBU) Meanwhile, in the midst of these senior Tehran security personnel changes, the overall head of the Iran's Law Enforcement Forces has launched an apparent public relations campaign to clean up the police's image in the wake of various abuse scandals related to the post-election unrest. Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam reminded a group of senior law enforcement officials February 22 that "criminals are citizens too" and have legal rights, and announced the formation of a new unit to safeguard the DUBAI 00000047 002 OF 002 rights of citizens while being detained. He also said that confessions are not to be obtained under pressure or by force. To protect these rights, Ahmadi Moghaddam announced that interrogation rooms in police facilities across the country will soon be equipped with "monitoring systems" that will allow for enhanced supervision. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Rajabzadeh's attempt to deflect blame away from the police under his supervision to the IRGC seemingly did not sit well with all elements of the security forces. Though the backstory behind these tensions has not yet made the press, the unusually public spat between a senior police official and the IRGC is yet another indication of the regime fissures exacerbated by dispute over the election and the manner it which the subsequent fall-out has been handled. More than eight months after the election, and two weeks after the regime declared the "insurrection" dead on 22 Bahman, turmoil continues. END COMMENT. EYRE