The United Kingdom has issued sanctions against 30 people worldwide, including Russian and Iranian authorities, who it holds responsible for torture, sexual abuse, and the brutal repression of street movements.
This happened one day after France declared further EU sanctions will be imposed on Iran for its human rights abuses during the security crackdown on widespread protests and its delivery of drones to Russia before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The United Kingdom has announced new sanctions in honour of International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day, saying they were developed in conjunction with international partners.
They included people who participated in things like torturing detainees or organising rapes of civilians by the military.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, “Today, our sanctions go further to expose those behind the heinous violations of our most fundamental rights.”
The Russian 90th Tank Division, led by Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin, has been involved in warfare since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine early this year. Hence its leadership has been targeted for sanctions.
The government has stated that several claims have been made against the division’s active duty soldiers, including the conviction of a senior lieutenant in Ukraine on sexual abuse charges during the conflict.
Russia has denied committing war crimes or targeting people, despite claims that it is conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine to eradicate threats to its security.
Ten Iranian officials were involved with the country’s jail system, which Britain sanctioned. Six individuals with ties to the Revolutionary Courts, which have handed down sentences of up to the death penalty for protestors, were arrested.
The death in police detention on September 16 of Kurdish Iranian lady Mahsa Amini, age 22, sparked nationwide protests that have been one of the largest challenges to the Islamic republic since its inception in 1979.
As a result of allegations of maltreatment of both Iranian and foreign inmates, the British government imposed sanctions on Ali Cheharmahali and Gholamreza Ziyayi, the former directors of Tehran’s Evin prison.
According to the UK Foreign Office, this package of sanctions is the largest single set of sanctions ever issued by Britain, affecting 11 nations under seven different sanctions regimes.
Besides these three countries, those from Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Uganda were also named on the list of those responsible for human rights violations.
The United Kingdom sanctioned three military entities in Myanmar, one armed group in Mali, and two local leaders in South Sudan for their roles in orchestrating sexual abuse.
Officials from Kosovo, Moldova, and Serbia have been accused of corrupt behaviour.