The government of Iran must immediately cease using the Basij militia to police demonstrations and must hold the perpetrators of human rights abuses to account, Amnesty International said today. The international human rights group also urged authorities to respect the rights of the Iranian people to peaceful protest.

“Amnesty International has received credible reports that members of the Basij militia have used excessive force against demonstrators” said Andrew Beswick, Campaigns Manager for Amnesty International Australia. “This indiscriminate use of violence is a clear violation of the basic rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.”

The Basij militia is a volunteer paramilitary force of men and women under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia are widely used in Iran to help maintain law and order and to repress dissent, and have frequently been accused of using extreme brutality.

Demonstrators claim that non-uniformed and armed personnel, whom they believed to be members of the Basij militia, have used excessive force - including beatings and firearms - against protesters in recent days.

One video shows a member of the Basij shooting from a building used by the militia during demonstrations on Monday 15 June in which at least 8 people were killed. Another video of a young woman identified as Neda, apparently dying from a chest wound, has been widely circulated amid claims of involvement of Basij members.

Iranian authorities have not instigated proper investigations to clarify the circumstances of recent deaths. They have responded by issuing further warnings that protests will be handled in a ‘revolutionary manner’ by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Basij militia and other police and security forces.

Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to fully investigate all reports of death, including possible extrajudicial executions, and to bring anyone found responsible to justice.

“Iranians wishing to peacefully express their opposition to recent events surrounding the election have no space to do so, as they are met with violence that has been legitimised by the highest authority in the land,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “It’s time for the Iranian authorities to allow peaceful protest and to remove the Basij from the streets. The policing of any demonstrations should be left to the police or other security forces which are properly trained and equipped.”

Following Friday’s speech from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanding an end to the protests, there were further demonstrations on Saturday in Tehran and other cities and towns across the country. According to authorities, 13 people were killed and many more were injured. Governments reports suggest over 400 people were arrested. On Monday 15 June a demonstration of about 1,000 people in Tehran was met with tear gas and arrests.

“Recent statements from the police, who denied opening fire on protestors, and from the Tehran Prosecutor-General, who blamed the killings on ‘armed terrorists’, look like an attempt to disassociate state organs from responsibility for violence,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. “This is all the more reason to stop using the Basij as there is no way for the public to even identify them, let alone bring them to account for violations. If the Iranian authorities are not able to control such a militia, they should disband it. It is irresponsible to provide weapons and then to relinquish responsibility when abuses occur”.