Banoo

[Soroush @subtle_vision]

Gazelle (@GazelleSharmahd),
I believe you are conflating two very different issues.
I agree that every immigration applicant should undergo appropriate security screening and an individualized assessment. That applies to everyone, not just former conscripts.
Where I disagree is the conflation of compulsory conscription with membership. Those are fundamentally different legal and factual concepts. A former conscript should be assessed on their activities, level of responsibility, voluntariness, conduct, and any continuing affiliation. But mandatory service, by itself, should NEVER be treated as evidence of membership. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding is now being reflected in immigration and security assessments in both the United States and Canada, where compulsory conscription is being treated as evidence of membership.
In my view, that conflates a legal obligation imposed by the state with voluntary affiliation to an organization, two fundamentally different concepts.
The conscripts receive a “ Certificate of Completion of Compulsory Service”, whereas career IRGC personnel do not, because their service is part of their profession. That distinction exists for a reason.
I’ve been working directly on this issue for more than three years, engaging with hundreds of affected cases. I also spent nearly four decades living in Iran and have firsthand knowledge of how the compulsory conscription system operates in practice.
I’d genuinely welcome a debate with you on this issue.
I think it’s important that conversations on such a serious matter are grounded in evidence and careful distinctions, not assumptions.
As someone advocates for human rights, I feel like you share a responsibility to prevent the spread of misleading interpretations that can have life-changing consequences for innocent families.
@NegarMojtahedi @NazaninAJ @kshahrooz @AliEhsassi @PierrePoilievre @gary_srp @tomkmiec @vincentneilho @MortazaviMahsa @MichelleRempel @GarnettGenuis @BradRedekopp

[Rene Duchamp @ReneDuchamp]

@subtle_vision @Najmeh1866067 @GazelleSharmahd Well said Soroush
#conscriptsarenotmembers

[Leohopkinz🍁 @Leohopkinz1]

@subtle_vision @GazelleSharmahd Spot on, Soroush.
Compulsory conscription and voluntary affiliation aren't the same.
Individuals should be assessed on what they actually did, not guilt by association. #ConscriptsAreNotMembers

[AfterWinter پس از زمستان @afterwinter91]

@subtle_vision @GazelleSharmahd Thanks, Soroush jan, for having the courage to say the unthinkable truth! The horrific ideology is to present false information as if it were the truth and to keep misleading people with it ! #ConscriptsarenotMembers

[Freedom @FreedomA722]

@subtle_vision @GazelleSharmahd Canada needs a clear public framework explaining how forced IRGC conscripts are distinguished from voluntary members. Security and fairness can go together.

@PierrePoilievre @MarkJCarney @MelissaLantsman @gary_srp @LenaMetlegeDiab @AliEhsassi

#ConscriptsAreNotMembers

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@Najmeh1866067 @subtle_vision @GazelleSharmahd Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc

[Najmeh @Najmeh1866067]

@subtle_vision @GazelleSharmahd :
I fully support this position. Compulsory military service should not automatically be equated with voluntary membership in the IRGC. Each case should be assessed individually, based on evidence and the person’s actual role and conduct.

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@Najmeh1866067 @GazelleSharmahd Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc

[Najmeh @Najmeh1866067]

@GazelleSharmahd Individual assessment is fair. But mandatory service alone is not proof of voluntary membership or wrongdoing. Investigate based on evidence, not assumptions. #ConscriptsAreNotMembers

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@subtle_vision @GazelleSharmahd Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@Saaba_sp Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc

[Saba @Saaba_sp]

We support holding IRGC members and affiliates accountable, but people who were conscripts should not automatically be treated as IRGC members simply because of their conscription.

We are asking for fairness and a genuine case-by-case assessment of each person’s circumstances. Treating all conscripts the same and rejecting their cases based solely on conscription is not fair or justice. It affects the lives of thousands of innocent families, including women and children, who have nothing to do with the IRGC. This is simply not justice.
@MarkJCarney
@gary_srp
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@AliEhsassi
@PierrePoilievre
@MelissaLantsman
#ConscriptsAreNotMembers

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@nahiiiiid3 @AliEhsassi @pfragiskatos @LenaMetlegeDiab Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc

[Nahiid @nahiiiiid3]

We support designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization and targeting its members and affiliates, not Iranians forced into mandatory conscription. Forced conscripts should not pay for those who chose to serve the regime.
@AliEhsassi
@pfragiskatos
@LenaMetlegeDiab

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@Saaba_sp @AliEhsassi @CostasMenegakis @MarkJCarney Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc

[Saba @Saaba_sp]

We support designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization and targeting its members and affiliates—not Iranians forced into mandatory conscription. Forced conscripts should not pay for those who chose to serve the regime.
@AliEhsassi
@CostasMenegakis
@MarkJCarney
@LenaMetlegeDiab

[Freedom @FreedomA722]

@GazelleSharmahd All my life, I worked day and night at top universities, earning awards and scholarships. Now, I feel completely paralyzed by fear over something I was forced to do. I never chose it, and I was never a member of any organization.

#ConscriptsAreNotMembers

[Nahiid @nahiiiiid3]

@GazelleSharmahd Conscripts who before and after their service, has not connection with IRGC; nor with government; are innocent.
Conscripts families are completely fine by case by case assessment, but Canada treating all the same. Rejection! This is UNFAIR
#conscriptsAreNotMembers

[Saba @Saaba_sp]

Mandatory conscripts with no ties to the IRGC or the government before, during, or after their service should not be treated as members or supporters of either. Their families deserve an individual assessment based on their actual circumstances, not assumptions based solely on conscription. Rejecting their cases on that basis is deeply unfair. #ConscriptsAreNotMembers

[Banoo @Banoo_K2585]

@GazelleSharmahd Forced presence is not voluntary association; assignment is not choice; conscription is not a career.
@PierrePoilievre
@LenaMetlegeDiab
@MichelleRempel
@GarnettGenuis
@JulieDzerowicz
@MarkJCarney
@pfragiskatos
@SalmaZahid15
@SameerZuberi
@amansodhilib
@BradRedekopp
@freddaviescpc