Exclusive: 'Highly Confidential' Documents of the Islamic Republic Regarding the Protests of 2019 and 2022: Scare the People with Insecurity

The latest exclusive report from Voice of America on documents leaked by the hacking group 'Justice Ali' reveals details of the repeated planning by two high-ranking bodies of the Islamic Republic to set policies for military, law enforcement, and media institutions and to counter the 'potential occurrence' of nationwide protests in recent years. According to documents obtained by the hacking group 'Justice Ali' during the hacking of the judiciary, and exclusively provided to the Persian section of Voice of America, the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic, which operates under Ali Khamenei, and the National Security Council, which is officially under the Ministry of Interior but includes intelligence officials from various branches of the Islamic Republic, held meetings a few days after the onset of the nationwide protests in November 2019 and September 2022 to determine 'media policies' and the guidelines for military, law enforcement, intelligence, cultural, and sports institutions. These meetings, as indicated by the numbers mentioned in these documents, have been ongoing for years. One document pertains to the 211th session of the National Security Council held in 2019, while the second document relates to the 730th extraordinary session of the National Security Council in 2022. According to one of the obtained documents, which is a letter signed by 'Keyvan Khosravi', the then Deputy of the Supreme National Security Council, addressed to Ali Alqasi Mehr, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran, details of the 211th session of the 'Advertising and Media Policy Committee' of this council on December 4, 2019, have been revealed. In this 'highly confidential' document, the Supreme National Security Council refers to the peaceful protests of November 2019, which Reuters reported the number of protesters killed during the crackdown as '1500', as 'events and incidents causing insecurity due to riotous and tumultuous behaviors'. 'Riot and turmoil' are terms used by officials and institutions of the Islamic Republic to refer to peaceful public protests. In the letter dated December 4, 2019, details of the 'resolutions of the 211th session of the Advertising and Media Policy Committee', formed with the presence of officials from various agencies, are provided, and the Supreme National Security Council warns of the 'potential occurrence' of renewed nationwide protests, which are referred to as 'repeating riotous and tumultuous behaviors'. According to this document, among the reasons for the likelihood of renewed protests are 'excessive price increases', 'the existence and activity of social, ethnic, political, and economic fractures', and 'the increased audacity' of protesters and their 'field confrontation' with the forces of the Islamic Republic. The letter also adds that 'the radicalization of protest movements has intensified' and that the 'social, economic, political, and security consequences' of the November 2019 protests have led to 'deepening and expanding patterns of violent protests and subversive slogans'. The emergence of new opponents is also noted in this 'highly confidential' letter, which warns of 'disjointed political and media behaviors and movements of some internal currents and the reduction of cohesion among officials in various sectors', stating that 'newly emerged anti-revolutionary groups' have formed; groups that this body claims have 'various destructive and injurious behaviors'. Warnings about the 'funeral and burial' ceremonies of killed protesters and the 'advertising and media approach' of the Islamic Republic towards opponents were among other issues emphasized in this session. The documents obtained from the hacking of the judiciary by the Justice Ali group indicate that in response to the threats mentioned in this document, the Supreme National Security Council has pointed out several 'media policies'. In this directive, 'media and public platforms' are asked to focus their 'main axis and policy' regarding nationwide protests on 'drawing attention to the issue of insecurity and its consequences for national interests and public safety and security'. The publication of statistics and information about the dead is prohibited. The Supreme National Security Council also emphasized that 'the publication of any statistics and information regarding the number of casualties is prohibited' and requested the judiciary to 'deal with violators according to the law on the publication of confidential news'. While informing about the killed protesters has been labeled as 'confidential news' and is prohibited for domestic media, this council has accused free Persian-language media outside Iran, which have reported on this issue, of 'posting fake death notices' for the 'killed in the protests'. Additionally, the Supreme National Security Council has requested the judiciary to ensure 'decisive' handling of the cases of detainees and to pursue 'informing and justifying public opinion about judicial actions' in cooperation with media 'through the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance'. Furthermore, this high-ranking body of the Islamic Republic has attributed the killings of protesters to individuals other than government forces, requesting the judiciary to prepare 'legal documents' regarding 'deaths caused by rioters' in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and intelligence agencies, emphasizing that 'in these cases, justifying, comforting, and condoling the families and publicizing it is appropriate'. Previously, multiple reports have emerged regarding the efforts of Islamic Republic officials to portray the killed protesters during various nationwide protests in Iran as 'militia'. The Supreme National Security Council has also requested the Ministry of Intelligence to cooperate with the 'Shak', i.e., the National Security Council, in 'explaining the model of the formation and emergence of protest behaviors' and has asked the state media and the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to 'justify' their personnel and take action to 'manage the political atmosphere and strengthen political cohesion within the system and reduce tension and polarization'. According to another document that the 'Justice Ali' group provided to Voice of America, just a few days after the onset of the nationwide protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, the 'National Security Council', an entity that is officially under the country but includes intelligence officials from various branches of the Islamic Republic, sent a directive to several agencies, including the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. According to this document, a meeting chaired by the Minister of Interior and attended by the Ministers of Culture and Sports was held on October 4, 2022, and resolutions regarding the nationwide protests were sent to several intelligence, military, judicial, media, and some ministries. This document emphasizes the 'role of statements and positions of some artistic and sports figures in the emergence and intensification' of nationwide protests, with some of them being accused of 'stirring the emotions and feelings of young people and adolescents'. Accordingly, the two ministries of Culture and Youth have been tasked with utilizing 'all their capacities' regarding nationwide protests to 'explain and justify' artistic and sports figures 'with the aim of clearly delineating boundaries and distancing them from the line' of what has been termed 'anti-revolutionary and riotous currents'. The National Security Council has also requested these two ministries to prioritize 'attracting and maintaining the commitment of recognized elements and figures' to the laws of the Islamic Republic and to focus on famous personalities who, according to Islamic Republic officials, have 'anti-security speech and behavior' and to carry out 'necessary predictions and precautions' to prevent 'notable individuals and figures who have not yet taken a stance' from joining opponents of the Islamic Republic in the virtual space. According to the leaked document, all agencies under the Islamic Republic have been instructed to provide 'appropriate support in the real and virtual space' for figures who have had 'positive positions' regarding the government in response to nationwide protests and to prevent the emergence of 'unity and cohesion' among those labeled as 'problematic figures', and if 'desired results' are not achieved, to refer the matter 'for decision-making to the relevant working group in the Shak Secretariat (National Security Council)'. This governmental body has also tasked agencies such as 'state media, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Basij, and the Islamic Propaganda Organization' to 'employ all capacities' to 'neutralize' what has been termed 'the media propaganda currents of adversaries' to change the atmosphere in favor of the discourse supporting the Islamic Revolution. The National Security Council has also warned of the continued presence of protesters in the streets and has requested the 'Islamic Republic's Law Enforcement Command, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Ministry of Intelligence' to prioritize 'ending protests and gatherings in all parts of the country' using various operational intelligence methods such as infiltrating the core of the protesters and 'identifying and dealing with the leaders and main elements' of the protests. According to this directive, the judiciary and its agents have been instructed to 'accelerate' the handling of cases for some protesters as 'rioters and elements of a group that have committed murder'. The attribution of murder to some detained protesters, which has led to the execution of some of them without access to transparent and fair trials, has previously been protested by international human rights organizations, including Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. The emphasis on showing 'attacks on police' in the reports of state media has also been noted. The National Security Council has requested state media to prioritize 'special coverage' regarding what has been termed 'the violent actions of rioters, especially attacks on police and ordinary citizens'. Based on this directive, the 'General Security Organization of the Country', an organ under the Ministry of Intelligence that includes university security units, has been tasked with 'completing and strengthening the university surveillance system', and the Ministry of Intelligence has been instructed to provide 'financial and equipment support' for this action. Additionally, the Ministry of Culture has been tasked with implementing 'preventive measures' regarding 'potential movements' in holding concerts. This 'highly confidential' directive, which includes the resolutions of the 'extraordinary' 730th session of the National Security Council, has been sent to agencies including the Political Security Deputy of the Attorney General, the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran, the Political, Cultural, and Social Intelligence Deputy of the Ministry of Intelligence, and the Anti-Terrorism Deputy of the Ministry of Intelligence. The Deputy of Operations of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Deputy of the Tharallah Headquarters in Tehran, the Head of the Basij Organization, and the Head of the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards are among the other recipients of this directive. According to a previous exclusive report from Voice of America, the intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic, in cooperation with several ministries and state media, have been managing 'specific figures' for years and have been fabricating cases against some cultural and sports personalities.