Information on the Basij; on whether its members are all volunteers or whether some are forcibly conscripted; on whether some of its members were transfered from the regular army against their will; on whether Basij forces were fighting in Kurdistan in 1991 and 1992; on whether or not Basij members get military completion cards for their service; and on the age range of members [IRN20001.E]

According to several sources, the Basij is a volunteer force (AFP 24 Feb. 1995; AP 1 Nov. 1994) which is affiliated to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (BBC Summary 28 Dec. 1994; Katzman 1993, 67-70; Law of the Employment Regulations. 16 Oct. 1991. Chapt. 2, Art. 6). A BBC Summary report also describes the Basij as "paramilitary volunteers" (22 Aug. 1994). According to Basij commander Reza Afshar, 700,000 volunteers were recruited in 1994 in an effort to achieve Iran's goal of building up a 20-million-strong Islamic army (APS 3 Dec. 1994).

The Basij is a "force of some 500,000 men recruited largely from Iran's poor" (AP 1 Nov. 1994). The Basij come from rural villages and are instructed by mullahs (The Independent 22 Aug. 1994; Katzman 1993, 67; Zabih 1988, 183-84).

Information could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB as to whether or not the Basij fought in Kurdistan from 1991 to 1992, but millions of Basij volunteers fought against Iraqi forces during the 1980-1988 war (APS 3 Dec. 1994).

Information pertaining specifically to whether or not Basij members receive military service completion cards could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. Please refer to the attached copy of Article 26 of the Implemental Bylaws of the General Military Service Law, and the attachment from Issues Related to Iranian Asylum Seekers and Refugee Applications Abroad for general information on the issuing of military service completion cards.

According to the attachment from Kenneth Katzman's The Warriors of Islam: Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the Basij was composed of youth under 17 years of age, and often as young as 10 or 11 years old, and elderly volunteers, many of whom were senior citizens (1993, 67). In the attachment from The Iranian Military in Revolution and War, Sepehr Zabih states that the Basij forces were "recruited from among thousands of poorer rural or urban classes ranging in age from 12 to 72" (1988, 183). For additional information on the ages of Basij members, please also consult the attached copies of Articles 93 and 94 of Iran's Law of the Employment Regulations of the Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution of 16 October 1991 as reproduced in a 27 October 1994 issue of FBIS.

Please consult the Complete Regulations of the Islamic Republic's of Iran's Armed Forces which are reproduced in the FBIS Daily Report Supplement for Near East and South Asia dated 27 October 1994. This document is available at Toronto Front, Toronto University and Headquarters Documentation Centres. Various relevant articles from these laws are included in the attachments, although it must be noted that due to the length of the regulations, a thorough examination of the laws was not possible in the time limitations imposed on the DIRB.

For further information on the Basij, please consult Responses to Information Requests IRN16099.E of 21 December 1994, IRN16160.E of 5 January 1994 and IRN2315 of 10 October 1989. Response to Information Request IRN19597.E of 6 February 1995 provides general information on the Revolutionary Guards of Iran. All of these Responses are available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find attached the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References


Agence France Presse (AFP). 24 February 1995. Laurent Maillard. "Iran calls for Israel's Destruction on Jerusalem Day." (NEXIS)

Arab Press Service Diplomat Recorder (APS). 3 December 1994. Vol. 41, No. 23. "Arab Gulf Affairs - Nov. 28 - Iranian Speedboat Manoeuvres." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP). 1 November 1994. "Iran's Parliament Gives Troops OK to Shoot Protesters." (NEXIS)

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 28 December 1994. "Majlis: More on Bill to Ban Satellite Reception; Speaker on Christmas, Chechnya." (NEXIS)

. 22 August 1994. "Ayatollah Amoli leads Qom Friday Prayers, Accuses Argentina of Illogicality." (NEXIS)

The Independent [London]. 22 August 1994. Safa Haeri "Iranian Riots Leave Dead and Wounded." (NEXIS)

Iran. Law of the Employment Regulations of the Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution. 16 October 1991. (FBIS-NES-94-208-S 27 Oct. 1994, p. 76-107)

Katzman, Kenneth. 1993. The Warriors of Islam: Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press.

Zabih, Sepehr. 1988. The Iranian Military in Revolution and War. London: Routledge.

Attachments

Iran. Law of the Employment Regulations of the Guard Corps of the Islamic Revolution. 16 October 1991. Chapters 1 and 2, Parts 1 and 2. (FBIS-NES-94-208-S 27 Oct. 1994, pp. 76-78)

. Articles 93 and 94. (FBIS-NES-94-208-S 27 Oct. 1994, p. 87)

Iran. Implemental Bylaws of the General Military Service Law. 4 August 1985. Article 26. (FBIS-NES-94-208-S 27 Oct. 1994, p. 118)

A Joint Report by the Embassies of Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. October 1993. Issues Related to Iranian Asylum Seekers and Refugee Applications Abroad. Tehran, pp. 26-27.

Katzman, Kenneth. 1993. The Warriors of Islam: Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press, pp. 67-70.

Zabih, Sepehr. 1988. The Iranian Military in Revolution and War. London: Routledge, pp. 183-84, 214.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Reports. Yearly. 1993, 1994.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994.

DIRB Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. 1995.

Documentation, Information and Research Branch (DIRB), Immigration and Refugee Board [Ottawa]. September 1994. Contextual Information Package: Iran.

The Europa World Year Book. Yearly. 1994.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily. 1991 to 1994.

Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Yearly. 1993.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1995. 1994.

INS Resource Information Center [Washington, DC]. January 1993. Information Packet Series: Iran.

World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Penal Systems. 1989.

On-line search of media sources.