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UK imposes sanctions on security officials, morality police in Iran
The UK has imposed sanctions on senior security figures and morality policy in Iran in the wake of the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody, a government statement said.
Protests in Iran have sparked over the death of Mahsa Amini on Sep 16 after being detained by the morality police in the capital Tehran for allegedly violating the country's dress code.
For decades the Morality Police have used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public.
“In response, the UK has early today (Monday Oct 10) sanctioned the Morality Police in its entirety, as well as both its chief Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi and the Head of the Tehran Division Haj Ahmed Mirzaei,” the UK government statement said.
“It also imposed sanctions on 5 leading political and security officials in Iran for committing serious human rights violations, including, Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij force, responsible for internal security in Iran, Hassan Karami. the Commander of the NAJA Special Forces Unit of the Iranian police and Hossein Ashtari, the Commander-in-chief of the Iranian police,” the UK government statement mentioned.
"The Basij force, NAJA Special Forces Unit and the wider Iranian police have played a central role in the crackdown on protests across Iran in recent weeks, as well as the fuel-related protests in 2019," the statement added.
The West Is Still Failing the Advocates of Freedom in Iran
These sanctions will ensure that the individuals on the list cannot travel to the UK and any of their assets held in the UK, or by UK persons anywhere, will be frozen.
James Cleverly, the UK's foreign secretary, said: "These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities-we will hold you to account for your repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence you have inflicted on your own people."
levantnews-ukgov
