UK imposes sanctions on Iranian and Russian officials for violating human rights

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain slapped sanctions on 30 people globally on Friday, including Russian and Iranian authorities, for acts of torture, sexual abuse, and violent repression of public movements.

The action comes a day after France imposed additional European Union sanctions against Iran for human rights violations in its security crackdown on popular dissent in the country, as well as its delivery of drones to Russia before to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The British government stated that its sanctions were planned in collaboration with international partners to coincide with International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day. Individuals involved in acts like as torturing of captives and mobilisation of troops to rape civilians were included.

“Today, our sanctions go even farther to expose those responsible for the horrific abuses of our most basic rights,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
Russian Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin was sanctioned for his position as commander of the 90th Tank Division, which has been involved in battle since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

The government stated that several complaints have been made against serving members of the 90th Tank Division, including the conviction of a senior lieutenant on sexual assault charges during the battle in Ukraine.
Russia has denied committing war crimes or targeting people while conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine to eradicate threats to national security.

Britain also sanctioned ten Iranian officials linked to the country’s prison institutions. This includes six persons with ties to the Revolutionary Courts, which have been in charge of trying demonstrators and handing out penalties including the death penalty.

Nationwide protests erupted on Sept. 16 following the murder in police custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, posing one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since its inception in 1979.

The British government sanctioned Ali Cheharmahali and Gholamreza Ziyayi, the former heads of Tehran’s Evin prison, which it claimed was renowned for mistreating both Iranian and international captives.

According to the Foreign Office, the penalties imposed on 11 nations spanning seven sanctions regimes were the most that Britain has ever imposed in one day.

Myanmar’s Office of the Chief of Military and Security Affairs was among those sanctioned by Britain, which stated it had been complicit in torture, including rape and sexual abuse, since last year’s military takeover.