EU sanctions eight individuals and one other entity in Iran for human rights violations

The Council of the European Union on Monday sanctioned eight more people, including lawmakers and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), and an entity in Iran, considering them responsible for "serious violations" of human rights in that country. 

The Council said in a statement that the new blacklist now includes lawmakers from the Iranian Parliament, members of the IRGC and the IRCG Cooperative Foundation, a body in charge of managing the Guard's investments and, in that framework, responsible for channelling money to "the regime's brutal repression". 

The company sanctioned today is Ariantel, an Iranian mobile phone service provider, which the EU says "contributed to the Iranian government's telecommunications surveillance architecture designed to silence dissent and critical voices in Iran". 

The restrictive measures now apply to a total of 211 individuals and 35 entities. 

They consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban to the EU and a ban on making funds or economic resources available to listed individuals. 

A ban on the export to Iran of equipment that could be used for internal repression and telecommunications monitoring equipment also remains in force. 

The European Union and its member states again urged the Iranian authorities "to end all forms of violent repression against peaceful protests, to stop resorting to arbitrary arrests as a means of silencing critical voices and to release all those unjustly detained". 

"The EU calls on Iran to end the practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters, to revoke death sentences handed down, and to ensure due process for all detainees," the Council added. 

The EU also called on Tehran to end "the painful practice of detaining foreign civilians for political gain". 

Since the death of young Masha Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly, the EU has adopted, with today's, six rounds of sanctions against Iran over human rights violations. 

The legal acts corresponding to today's sanctions have been published in the EU's Official Journal so that they can enter into force.