UK - Court of Appeal, AA-R (Iran) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, [2013] EWCA Civ 835

Facts:

The applicant was a member of the Basij, a paramilitary force which enforces ideological (and what it considers to be Islamic) values in Iran. The Appellant held the highest rank in his village, in command of 30 men. He handed people over to his colleagues who beat and tortured them, to the point of unconsciousness.  Although he did not commit any violent acts himself, he turned a ‘blind eye’ to the violence happening under his command.

Decision & reasoning:

The applicant argued that to qualify as ‘crimes against humanity’ local beatings should have been specifically identified by the government, so that they could be tested to determine exactly what happened and when. This was necessary to determine whether the ill treatment was sufficiently severe as to be proscribed by Article 7(1)(k).

The Court disagreed; it was firmly of the view that complicity had been shown in this case.  The applicant was a man who watched lashings, beatings, torture and use of batons, and having watched this, sent yet more arrested individuals into the hands of those who had inflicted the violence.  The applicant was also heavily involved in recruitment and propaganda, acts which materially assisted the Basij in its purpose of persecuting the civilian population.  This further demonstrates his substantial contribution to the Basij’s ability to operate.

The Court held that once there is evidence that an individual has made significant contributions to the acts of an organisation of whose malign activities he was aware, he is complicit in those acts. The applicant was thus properly excluded from international protection.

Outcome:

Appeal dismissed