German foreign minister urges sanctions on Iran over violence against protesters

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) – Germany's foreign minister on Monday urged sanctions against Iran for the use of violence to quell protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested for not wearing hijab properly.

Annalena Baerbock told German news agency DPA that attempts to suppress peaceful protests with deadly violence in Iran should not go unanswered and those responsible should face sanctions.

Emphasizing that women's rights are an important criterion for the state of a society, she said if women are not safe in a country, nobody is safe.

At a press conference in Berlin on Monday, German Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Christian Wagner said that Iran's ambassador to Berlin was summoned to the Foreign Ministry.

Amini died on Sept. 16 in mysterious circumstances after being detained and taken to the headquarters of the morality police in Tehran.

While authorities maintain that she died of cardiac arrest, her family claims she was beaten in police custody, which has fueled angry protests across Iran in recent days and drawn condemnation from across the World.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan