A former commander of the Basij, a volunteer branch of the IRGC that is responsible for brutal, widespread and systematic attacks and suppression against civilians and dissidents, lives in the north of England where he runs a butcher shop, according to an investigation by Channel 4 News.
Akbar Azimi-Rad, 42, arrived in the UK in 2007, but his asylum claim was rejected because he had been a Basij commander, according to immigration tribunal papers seen by the JC.
He allegedly told officials that he joined the paramilitary group when he was 12 and, by his early 20s held the highest rank in his village and was in command of 30 men. He completed compulsory military service with the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran between 2003 and 2004.
A member of the Basij for 11 years, he claimed people hated him and “ran away” when they saw him. Although he claims not to have been violent himself, he admitted to handing over those “he knew would be subject to serious ill-treatment”, per Channel 4.
He also claimed to have objected when his men committed serious acts of abuse and was reported by his colleagues “for being too soft”.
After allegedly becoming “disillusioned” in Iran, he gave away information to undermine the group and fled the country.
Azimi-Rad appealed his asylum claim, but judges upheld the decision because he was complicit in crimes against humanity, according to tribunal papers.
In the UK, Azimi-Rad has apparently led anti-IRGC demonstrations in the UK. The Home Office tried to deport him but, even though his asylum bid was rejected, he was allowed to stay in the UK on temporary visas because he might face persecution if sent back to Iran.
The findings come after the UK confirmed the IRGC would be proscribed as a national security threat amid a crackdown on foreign state-backed proxies. Showing support or assisting the IRGC could now result in prison sentences of up to 14 years.
Channel 4’s investigation has also allegedly identified two other individuals who have settled in the UK, one male and one female, both responsible for overseeing crimes, including “torture” against their fellow countrymen.
There is no suggestion that any of the individuals found in the investigation still operate on behalf of the Iranian regime or are responsible for any wrongdoing in this country.
The woman, a former deputy governor of an Iranian women's prison, where political prisoners were detained and tortured, was similarly allowed to remain in the UK despite having her asylum claim refused.
A court judgment stated that she “made a substantial contribution to the acts of torture”.
According to the court, she later helped a relative escape from the prison after they were arrested in 2009, and they fled Iran together with her child.
Another man, a former IRGC prison guard, now lives in London after being granted asylum and indefinite leave to remain after arriving in the UK in 2001.
His later application for British citizenship was refused because the Home Office cited his “association with crimes against humanity.” A court heard he had been “responsible for guarding prisoners, who were kept naked in small dark cells and tortured”.
He said he became depressed by what he witnessed, went absent without leave, and was detained by the military. After being returned to the prison, he said he refused to shoot prisoners during a riot, was imprisoned and tortured himself, and later fled to the UK.
His appeal against the citizenship refusal was dismissed, and he declined to comment when approached by Channel 4 News.
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