UK Imposes More Iran Sanctions Over “Brutal Repression”

The British government has sanctioned more Iranian individuals and entities over the Islamic Republic’s "brutal repression" of Iran’s people, including a crackdown on anti-government protests and the recent execution of a British-Iranian dual national.

"Those sanctioned today, from the judicial figures using the death penalty for political ends to the thugs beating protestors on the streets, are at the heart of the regime's brutal repression of the Iranian people," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement on January 23.

"The UK and our partners have sent a clear message through these sanctions that there will be no hiding place for those guilty of the worst human rights violations."

The sanctions included an asset freeze on Iranian Deputy Prosecutor-General Ahmad Fazelian, who the British Foreign Office said was “responsible for a judicial system characterised by unfair trials and egregious punishments, including use of the death penalty for political purposes.”

Britain sanctioned Prosecutor-General Mohammad Montazeri last week following the execution of dual British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari.

Others sanctioned by Britain on January 23 include Kiyumars Heidari, commander in chief of the Iranian army’s ground forces, Hossein Nejat, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the paramilitary Basij force and its Deputy Commander Salar Abnoush.

The European Union’s foreign ministers also agreed on a new package sanctions against the Islamic Republic on January 23 for its "brutal and disproportionate use of force" against protesters.

The Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on more than four months of widespread demonstrations against Iran’s clerical rulers, killing more than 500 people and detaining over 18,000, activists say.

Around 20 people have been handed capital punishment in connection with the protests. Four of them have been executed so far amid international outrage.

Many detainees have been handed long-term prison sentences.