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

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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