You will notice there is only one militia mentioned in Iran and it is very closely tied to the government. I would guess it is more closely related to some sort of extremist cross between the VFW and national guard than what we would consider a militia.
Just to clarify, I was talking about militias that exist outside government control and may even act as a parallel government, along the lines of Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Mahdi Army. The Iranian militia- name of which I have forgotten- is more of a government-sponsored paramilitary than these organizations.
Rights under a dictatorship? Sounds like an oxymoron or a contradiction in terms.
Iran is not a classic dictatorship. It has a constitution, an elected legislature, and an elected president; after all, the past week's problems are due to a disputed presidential election. It also has a tradition of rule of law and a basic framework of human rights, although those rights are generally not compatible with Western ideas of civil rights. In fact, the main impetus behind the Islamic Revolution was to
reestablish civil rights and the rule of law, since the Shah, who
was a classic dictator, had thrown both out the window.
Although the Supreme Leader can overrule or even remove the President and the Guardian Council (which is appointed by the Supreme Leader) can overrule the legislature, the President and the legislature seem to have more independence than this system would initially suggest. In fact, the Supreme Leader and Guardian Council have indicated that they are going to intervene in the dispute about the election, and have hinted that President Ahmadinejad may have overstepped his authority.
