Radan’s Return Signals Intensified Suppression to Protesters
Radan’s return signals suppression to protesters. According to Iran Gate, today, through a decree, Ahmadreza Radan, the former commander of the Greater Tehran Law Enforcement Force, was appointed as the deputy to Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari, the commander of the NAJA.
However, what takes this appointment out of the ordinary and involves various analyses is the timing of this change coinciding with recent protests and rumors of the dissatisfaction of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic with the performance of the NAJA and naturally its leadership.
But who is the new police chief of the Islamic Republic?
Radan began his military activities in 1980 as a volunteer force in the Basij, then he was transferred to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was a member of this organization during the Iran-Iraq war. After the war, he was transferred to the Kurdistan Law Enforcement Command. He held the position of Kurdistan Law Enforcement Commander from 1997 to 2000 and from 2000 to 2004, he was the commander of the Sistan and Baluchestan Law Enforcement.
From 2003 to 2004, Radan was the Khorasan Law Enforcement Commander and from 2004 to 2006, he was the Razavi Khorasan Law Enforcement Commander. In 2006, he was appointed as the Greater Tehran Law Enforcement Commander and served in this position until 2008. In October 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned him for serious human rights violations.
The Sanctioned Commander
On April 12, 2011, the European Union sanctioned Ahmadreza Radan for widespread and severe violations of Iranian citizens’ rights and chain murders. According to the EU statement, Ahmadreza Radan, as the deputy commander of the law enforcement force, played a role in the beatings, killings, arbitrary arrests, and detention of protesters by the law enforcement during the post-2009 election protests.
In October 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Ahmadreza Radan for serious human rights violations. According to the department’s statement, Ahmadreza Radan, as the deputy commander of the law enforcement force, was responsible for the beatings, killings, and arrests of protesters during the post-2009 presidential election protests and the Kahrizak detention center incidents.
A Man for the Season of Suppression
Now, Radan, who has a history of suppression and organizing suppressive forces since 2009 and the Green Movement protests, returns with the command of the Supreme Leader, after a hiatus spent at the NAJA Strategic Studies Center and in a ceremonial position. With the continuation of the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protest movement, the situation has turned in his favor, and he returns with a new mission, which is the suppression of protests.
However, this tactical change may not be very effective, as the root solution for returning calm is neither harsh measures nor dialogue and deliberation, which seems to have passed its time. Now, the field between the government and protesters resembles a duel, where the complete elimination of one side is the least demand of both parties.
Radan’s Statements in Defense of the Morality Police
In 2014, Ahmadreza Radan reacted harshly to then-President Hassan Rouhani’s criticism of the morality police. Regarding some comments about the dismantling of the morality police, he said these are merely personal opinions of individuals who express them. However, we welcome opinions related to how this plan is implemented, but regarding the reason, the deputy commander of the law enforcement force added, ‘We have no discussion with anyone about the existence of the morality police and the security patrols, and there is no room for debate about the existence or non-existence of the moral security patrols.’
The deputy commander of NAJA has announced the intensification of the morality police’s activities. In 2014, the law enforcement force will certainly deal with those who have purposefully targeted our culture more purposefully and cohesively, and public manifestations will also be considered.
Victory Through Fear: The Perpetual Policy
It seems the system’s perpetual policy continues, which is ‘victory through fear.’ On the very day when two young protesters, sentenced to execution in recent protests with the least access to their rights, such as having a lawyer and a fair trial, had their sentences carried out, which sparked many reactions on social media and among activists and even foreign politicians, Radan’s appointment was also publicized. This coincidence cannot be without reason and implies a kind of implicit threat to any protest reaction from the people.
However, it seems that such measures are no longer effective. As Ivan Klima says in his book ‘The Spirit of Prague,’ although at the beginning, the brutal behavior of totalitarian governments, such as show trials and executions, which are often a form of murder, and illegal sentences frighten many, they eventually conclude that such methods cannot be practically applied in many cases.
