April 12, 2011
The European Union has passed a resolution sanctioning 32 Iranians for Human Rights violations. These individuals will not be issued visas and their assets in EU member countries will be frozen. Regarding the protests throughout Africa and the Middle East, British Foreign Minister William Hague noted that the Tehran regime’s crackdown is worsening: “The European Union agreed to execute the most severe sanctions against 32 individuals who we think are responsible for Human Rights violations in Iran. Based upon the agreement made by the foreign Ministers of the 27 EU member countries, these 32 individuals will not be issued visas and their assets in EU member countries will be frozen.”
He did not mention any names but some reports have listed the following:
Mohammad Ali Jafari (IRGC Commander); Hassan Firouzabadi (Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces); Ali Saeedi (Supreme Leader’s Representative in the IRGC); Abdullah Araqi and Hossein Hamedani (Prophet Muhammad IRGC Commanders); Hossein Taeb (Head of the IRGC Intelligence Bureau); Mohammad Reza Naghdi (Commander of the Basij); Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam (Chief of Police); as well as ministers, judiciary officials, the Head of the Judiciary and his deputy Saeed Mortazavi (Former Tehran Prosecutor), and a number of Revolutionary Court judges.
The British Foreign Minister mentioned that the confinement of opposition leaders, arrest of journalists, and issuing of execution orders were some of the extreme Human Rights violations in Iran. “It seems that Iran believes that because of the changes now taking place in the Middle East, it can create a more dismal human rights situation,” Mr Hague said.
Because Iran refuses to negotiate on the nuclear issue, the European Union has levied sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. On March 22 the European Union stressed the necessity of sanctioning human rights violators in Iran, hence the latest resolution. Shirin Ebadi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, in early March called on EU member countries to freeze the assets of 80 Iranian officials and block them from travelling to Europe. The United States also made such a request to European countries. Whoever is responsible for Human Rights violations in Iran, Washington enacts sanctions against them.
In September 2010, Washington levied sanctions against Iranian officials such as Aziz Jafari (IRGC Commander), Gholamhossein Ejehi (Judiciary Spokesman), Saeed Mortazavi (former Tehran prosecutor), and Hossein Taeb (Head of the IRGC Intelligence Bureau). These are individuals said to be responsible for Human Rights violations in Iran and the murder of protestors of the 2009 Presidential Elections results. In early March, Washington added Abbas Dolatabadi Jafari (Tehran prosecutor) and Mohammad Reza Naghdi (Commander of the Basij) to this list.
The Human Rights situation in Iran has worsened throughout the two years since the riots against the June 2009 Presidential Elections. The crackdown has intensified against Civil Rights activists, students, journalists, religious minorities and critics of the Islamic Republic’s leaders. UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on, March 15 2011, stated that Iran has intensified its crackdown against opponents, with increasing executions of political prisoners, juveniles, and drug smugglers.
Responding to the horrible Human Rights situation in Iran, the UN Human Rights Council, in its March 24th meeting in Geneva, agreed to appoint a Special Iran Human Rights envoy. The United States and other Western countries welcomed this move but Iran called it “political and unfounded”, saying that it will not cooperate with the UN envoy.