Britain To Declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard As “Terror Group” Over Protest
The United Kingdom (UK) is set to declare the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a “terror group” over the treatment of protesters who participated in anti-government protests in the country.
According to the Telegraph, the move to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group is supported by Britain’s security minister, Tom Tugendhat, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Iran has arrested seven people with links to the UK over protests.
If the UK declared Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, it would become a criminal offence to belong to the group and carry out its meetings.
Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already urged Iran to stop detaining dual nationals in connection with anti-government protests.
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Some people with dual nationalities were detained while trying to leave Iran. The UK’s Foreign Office confirmed that British-Iranian dual nationals were arrested in Iran. According to the UK, around seven people were detained by the intelligence services of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps).
Protests have rocked Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, who was arrested on September 13 for allegedly wearing “inappropriate attire” and “loose hijab” under Iran’s Islamic dress code for women.
Witnesses and human rights activists said that Amini was beaten inside a police van for not covering her hair with a hijab. The country’s morality police dragged her inside the police van to take her to the detention centre in order to teach her about appropriate dressing. Amini collapsed at the detention centre. Subsequently, she was taken to a hospital in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
Human rights activists and Amini’s family claimed that Iran’s morality police hit Amini’s head with a baton and she lost consciousness. She died on September 16 at the hospital. Consequently, massive protests erupted across the Islamic nation, demanding justice for Amini.