Friday , 29 March 2024

Canada Slaps Sanctions On Dozen Iranian Officials Linked to IRGC, Law Enforcement

RFL/RE – The Canadian government has imposed sanctions on 12 senior officials from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) for “gross violations of human rights” in a deadly crackdown on protesters angered by the death of a young woman while in police custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on February 27 that the officials slapped with the sanctions include Kurdistan Province Governor Esmaeil Zarei Kousha; Seyeh Sadegh Hosseini, an IRGC general and commander of the IRGC’s Beit al-Moqqadas Corps in Kurdistan Province; and Morteza Mir Aghaei, commander of the Basij paramilitary forces in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province.

“Today’s sanctions list 12 senior officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) who have participated in gross and systematic human rights violations in Iran, including through the lethal suppression of demonstrations across Kurdish areas of Western Iran,” the ministry said in a statement.

Rights groups say more than 500 people have been killed by security forces in the unrest sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16. Thousands more have been arrested, and the country’s judiciary, spurred by demands from lawmakers for the harsh treatment of protesters, has meted out heavy punishments — including the death sentence.

The measures enacted by the Canadian government prohibit dealings with the individuals on the list, effectively freezing any assets they may hold in Canada. Individuals listed in response to gross and systematic violations of human rights are also inadmissible to Canada under the country’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The statement said Canada will continue to coordinate with its international partners to respond to the Iranian regime’s “egregious” treatment of its people, its “deployment of propaganda” and its actions that “continue to threaten international peace and stability.”

“The Iranian regime continues to brutally oppress its people and to deny them their fundamental rights and freedoms. We hear the pleas of the Iranian people and we commend them for their bravery and resilience. Canada will not stop advocating for Iranians and their human rights,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly added in the statement.

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