An IRGC member, speaking through an intermediary, said he has not reported to work since Thursday, Jan. 8, and has since refused to return, citing severe depression and ongoing medical treatment. According to the officer, although “shoot-to-kill orders” had been issued against protesters and harsh crackdowns were expected on Thursday and Friday, January 8 and 9, and in the days that followed, he was still shocked by the level of violence and brutality inflicted by IRGC forces on the public. He added that some members of his own family were among the wounded or the disappeared.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that in recent weeks the IRGC’s Intelligence Protection Organization, the body responsible for internal security oversight, sent confidential directives to commanders warning that any refusal to carry out orders, whether from their immediate superiors or from the Supreme National Security Council, would be met with severe punishment. According to these directives, violators are to be immediately arrested and referred to special military courts. The orders emphasize that disobedience could result in the harshest sentences, particularly at a time when the country is portrayed as being on the brink of widespread urban clashes or civil war. (Read More)
