Britain launches sanctions against Iran's morality police after human rights violations

10 October 2022, 14:39 | Updated: 10 October 2022, 14:43

The UK has sanctioned five of Iran's senior political and security figures and the country's 'morality police' following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for violating the country's dress code.

The UK has sanctioned the entirety of Iran's morality police, alongside its chief Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi and the head of the Tehran division Haj Ahmed Mirzaei, for "committing serious human rights violations."

Those sanctioned will not be allowed to travel to the UK and any of their assets held in the UK, or held by UK persons, will be frozen.

In a statement, the FCDO said: "Mahsa Amini’s death, following her arrest by the Morality Police, has sparked protests across Iran and shocked the world. 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."

Ms Amini was arrested on September 16 for wearing her hijab incorrectly. Hours after being detained at the Vozara detention centre, Ms Amini collapsed into a coma.

She later died at Kara Hospital in Tehran. Despite eyewitnesses claiming that they saw Ms Amini being beaten by officers in a police van, Iranian authorities maintain that she died of "sudden heart failure".

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: "The UK stands with the people of Iran who are bravely calling for accountability from their government and for their fundamental human rights to be respected.

"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."

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Protests erupted in Iran following Ms Amini's funeral and, in their sanctions, the FCDO referred to the violent repression of protesters. The FCDO cited reports that live ammunition was being used on demonstrators and that those killed were being buried without their families knowledge.

On October 3, the Foreign Office summoned Mehdi Hosseini Matin, the most senior Iranian diplomat in the UK, over Iranian authorities' violent crackdown on protesters following Ms Amini's death.

Among those sanctioned are Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij force, and Commander of the NAJA Special Forces Unit of the Iranian Police, Hassan Karami.

The FCDO said: "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."

Protests in Iran following the death of Ms Amini have been ongoing since September 16.