All Iranian Officers and Military Guards Obligated to Arrest Deserters

The Legal Department of the Armed Forces Judicial Organization announced in a 'consultative opinion' that all law enforcement officers and military guards, whether they are judicial officers of military courts or judicial officers of civil courts, are 'obligated' to arrest deserters. According to a report on Tuesday, June 1, by the ISNA news agency, the consultative opinion states: 'All relevant law enforcement officers and military guards who are tasked with the duty of apprehending and arresting deserters under the provisions of Note 611 of the Criminal Procedure Code are obligated to arrest deserters as per the mentioned legal provision.' According to Article 611 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 'Military and law enforcement units are obliged to immediately report the desertion of their conscript personnel to the relevant public duty area, the relevant military guard, and the local police command of the individuals' residence.' Based on the note of this article, 'The relevant law enforcement and military guards are required to apprehend the deserters mentioned in this article after identification, according to regulations, and deliver them to the military prosecutor's office at the place of arrest.' Mousa Kamali, Deputy of Human Resources of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, on June 18, reported an intensification in the arrest of 'deserters' and the imposition of restrictions and limitations on absent conscripts and deserters. Mr. Kamali stated that obtaining a driver's license is not among the restrictions for deserters, but 'if absent or deserter conscripts attempt to obtain or renew a driver's license, their information will be checked and they will be arrested.' He also announced that centers employing absent conscripts must pay an annual fine of five million tomans for the first offense and 15 million tomans for subsequent offenses. According to officials, Iran has more than 1.5 million absent conscripts, over 300,000 of whom are seeking to purchase their military service. In 1998, a plan to sell military service was implemented for individuals of military service age, and in 2015, this plan was executed for absent conscripts for more than eight years.