EU sanctions 7 Iranians over human rights abuses committed against protesters

EU sanctions 7 Iranians over human rights abuses committed against protesters
by Darryl Coote
Washington DC (UPI) Jun 27, 2023

European lawmakers blacklisted seven Iranian officials on Monday, as the European Union continues to unleash punitive measures against members of the Iranian regime they hold responsible for committing human rights abuses against anti-regime protesters.

The government of Iran's spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, has met protests that erupted in September with a bloody crackdown that has resulted in hundreds killed, including by court-ordered executions.

Among those sanctioned by the 27-member European bloc on Monday include Seyyed Mohammad Mousvian, public and revolutionary prosecutor of Isfahan province, and Ali Zare Nouri, deputy judge and advisor to the provincial criminal court of Isfahan.

The EU holds the pair responsible for the trials against Saleh Mirhashmi, Majid Kazemi and Saeid Yaqoubi who were sentenced and then executed in May for their involvement in the protests.

The governor of Gilan province, Seyyed Nader Safavi Mirmahalleh, who is also the head of the security council for the city of Rezvanshahr, was hit with sanctions for "ordering officers to open fire on protesters" resulting in the deaths of several people, including children, the implementing regulation states.

Others sanctioned include Seyyed Khalil Safavi, police commander for Rezvanshahr, on accusations of being responsible for his officers following Mirmahalleh's orders; and Seyyed Abbas Hosseini, the governor of Amol, for being being responsible for the government killing of two protesters in September.

Mojtaba Fada, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander in Isfahan, and Rashid Kaboudvandi, commander of the Imam Hossein Guards Corps of Karaj, were also sanctioned Monday.

"The European Union and its member states urge the Iranian authorities to stop the violent crackdown against peaceful protests, cease their resort to arbitrary detentions as a means of silencing critical voices and release all those unjustly detained," the EU said in a statement.

The package is the ninth the EU has applied for human rights violations in Iran, totaling 223 people and 37 entities subject to asset freezes and travel bans. The listing also bars others from making funds or economic resources available to them.

The sanctions come as protests sparked by the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody continue into its 10th month.