News

For Immediate Release
Washington, DC - The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) strongly condemns the campaign of intimidation being carried out by the Iranian government against its citizens through the Basij paramilitary.  NIAC calls on the Iranian government to disarm the Basij immediately and to end the violent repression of the Iranian people. 
In the months following the disputed Iranian presidential elections, the Basij has been responsible for a brutal, escalating campaign of violence, both targeted and indiscriminate, aimed at silencing and intimidating Iranians attempting to express themselves freely and assemble peacefully.

The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force that has evolved from a decentralized morality police into a full scale armed militia that receives orders from the highest levels of the Iranian government.  To permit an armed, above-the-law, para-military group to roam the streets in the name of security is a contradiction in terms," said Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council. "Security, free expression, free assembly and the full enjoyment of universal rights cannot occur as long as the Iranian government permits armed groups to suppress the Iranian people." 

Extensive documentation assembled by human rights organizations and the United Nations
demonstrate that the Iranian government has utilized the Basij to terrorize its population through i... >>>