The EU has added six more people to its Iran human rights sanctions list, including five judges from regional Revolutionary courts and an Iranian cyber group founder.
Five of those sanctioned are judges who presided over trials involving religious minorities and political dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, the Council of the EU informed on Friday.
The judges are accused of using broadly defined national security and religious charges and handing down punishments including death sentences, long prison terms, flogging, fines and other penalties.
The Council linked some of the cases to the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini.
Asset freezes and travel bans
The sixth person listed is Nima Salehi, described as an Iranian hacker and computer engineer and a founder and leading figure in the Ashiyane cyber group, the Council said.
It noted that Ashiyane Digital Security cooperates closely with Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and is responsible for “intensive” cyber-attacks on domestic opponents, reformists and foreign institutions.
The measures mean those listed face an asset freeze and a ban on travelling to the EU, and it is prohibited to make funds or economic resources available to them.
An export ban to Iran covering equipment that could be used for internal repression — including telecommunications monitoring equipment — is also in place.
With the latest additions, the EU’s restrictive measures related to human rights violations in Iran apply to 269 individuals and 53 entities.
The legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.
The EU first introduced its Iran human rights sanctions regime in 2011 and has renewed it annually, most recently extending it until April 2027.
