US sanctions 12 Iranian officials for human rights abuses

The United States imposed sanctions on 12 Iranian officials on September 18, accusing them of human rights abuses, including violent crackdowns on protesters, torture of prisoners, and targeting dissidents abroad.

The sanctions come around the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in custody of Iran’s "morality police," an event that ignited widespread protests across Iran. In response to the anniversary, the Iranian government has intensified its repression of peaceful demonstrations.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized that since Amini's death, the Iranian regime has consistently violated the rights of its citizens, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

“The United States remains committed to exposing and sanctioning Iranian officials responsible for human rights abuses,” Miller stated.

According to Victoria Taylor, deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran, the international community should judge the Iranian government based on its actions rather than its rhetoric, noting the continuity of human rights abuses under Iran's new leadership.

Among those sanctioned are four members of Iran's security forces involved in the violent 2022 crackdowns, including Hamid Khorramdel, commander of an IRGC unit responsible for arresting and forcing confessions from activists, and Mustafa Bazvand, whose forces were linked to the killing of protesters and the arrest of journalists.

The sanctions also target four prison officials accused of abusing prisoners. One, Alireza Babaei Farsani, oversees prisons where Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was tortured in an attempt to force a televised confession. Another, Ahmad Reza Azadeh, manages a prison where conditions are dire, and protesters face imminent execution.

Additionally, four officials involved in targeting Iranian dissidents abroad were sanctioned. Yahya Hosseini Panjaki, one of the four, was implicated in a failed bombing of an Iranian dissident gathering in Paris, while Javad Ghaffarhaddadi, head of Iran’s Intelligence Organization’s Special Operations division, played a key role in the 2019 kidnapping and execution of France-based journalist Ruhollah Zam.

In addition to the sanctions, the U.S. continues efforts to help Iranians access uncensored information and the internet, with Taylor underscoring the importance of ensuring the free flow of information amid government-imposed internet shutdowns.

by Tamilla Hasanova