European Council Approves Sanctions on Seven Individuals Over Human Rights Violations in Iran.
The European Council has given its approval for a ninth package of sanctions, targeting an additional seven individuals accused of committing “serious human rights violations” in Iran.
According to a statement released on June 26, the newly listed individuals include the prosecutor of Isfahan Province and the deputy judge of the provincial Criminal Court of Isfahan. They were responsible for overseeing the trials of Saleh Mirhashmi, Majid Kazemi, and Saeid Yaqobi, who were executed in May 2023.
Among the sanctioned individuals is also the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces in Isfahan Province, who supervised the actions of security forces in response to ongoing anti-government protests that have rocked Iran for over a year.
These protests initially emerged due to worsening living conditions and were further fueled by a crackdown on dissent following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September, allegedly due to a head-scarf violation.
Furthermore, the European Council added to the list the governor and head of Rezvanshahr Security Council in Gilan Province, who issued orders to open fire on protesters, as well as the police commander of Rezvanshahr in Gilan Province, who executed these orders.
Sanctions were also imposed on the governor of Amol City, who the council held responsible for the killing of at least two Iranian protesters, and the commander of the Imam Hossein Guards Corps of Karaj, implicated in the detention and killing of Mohammad Reza Ghorbani and the detention and rape of Amrita Abbassi by the Karaj security forces.
In its statement, the European Union and its member states called on Iranian authorities to cease the violent crackdown on peaceful protests, end the practice of arbitrary detentions to stifle dissenting voices, and release all individuals unjustly detained.
With these additions, the sanctions list now includes a total of 223 individuals and 37 entities.
The imposed sanctions entail asset freezes, EU-wide travel bans, and restrictions on receiving funds or economic resources from the European bloc.
