In response to what it called “egregious” human rights violations, Australia has declared that it will impose targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran.
In a statement, foreign minister Penny Wong said sanctions would be placed on 13 people and two organizations, including the Basij Resistance Force and Iran’s morality police, as well as six Iranians who took part in the suppression of the protests that began after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in custody in September.
Human rights sanctions would also be placed on seven Russians involved in what the foreign minister claimed was an attempt to kill former opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to Ms. Wong’s statement.
In an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Wong said Seyed Sadegh Hosseini, whom she described as a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is one of those who will be sanctioned.
He was being listed for his alleged role in the “indiscriminate use of violence against protesters”.
“The Iranian regime’s flagrant and widespread disregard for the human rights of its own people has appalled Australians, and the perpetrators must be held accountable,” Ms Wong wrote in the newspaper on Saturday.