EU blacklists 8 new Iranians over human rights violations

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to sanction eight new Iranian individuals and one entity over “serious human rights violations.”

“Today, the Council (of the European Union) decided to impose restrictive measures on additional eight individuals and one entity responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran,” the EU institution representing member states said in a statement after the meeting of EU top diplomats.

The measures target, among others, “members of the judiciary responsible for handing down death sentences in unfair trials and for the torturing of convicts,” the statement further said.

Clerics, a lawmaker and other officials as well as the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution are blacklisted for “undermining the freedom of girls and women.”

The EU foreign ministers urged the Iranian authorities “to stop the violent crackdown against peaceful protests and cease their resort to arbitrary detentions.”

They also reiterated their call on Iran to “end the practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters” and reverse the existing decisions.

With the update, the bloc now targets 204 people and 34 individuals in Iran.

The measures forbid EU operators to make funds available and prevent individuals from entering EU territory.