Supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been declared a criminal offence that comes with a hefty 14-year prison sentence.
Under the new rules, a wide range of support for the IRGC, including providing assistance or expressing support for the group, could carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years, reported BBC.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who is also of Pakistani descent, recently stated that these measures are intended to strengthen the UK’s response to espionage, foreign interference, sabotage and state-backed hostile activities.
The government has also designated the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right (IMCR) and the Volunteer Corps, a group linked to Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), under the same heading.
The legislation gives police and intelligence agencies more power to investigate and prosecute individuals supporting IRGC and other foreign outfits. It also removes the requirement for prosecutors to prove a direct foreign-state connection in certain offences.
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