EU to sanction more Iranian officials involved in crackdown on protesters

Brussels: The Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard will not be added to the EU’s list of terrorist organisations, but the European Union is expected to impose more sanctions on numerous Iranian officials suspected of taking part in the crackdown on protestors. For human rights violations related to the protests that broke out in Iran in the middle of September over the death of Mahsa Amini, the 27-nation bloc has already imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iranian officials and organisations. These sanctions include those against government ministers, military officers, and Iran’s morality police. After being detained by the morality police for allegedly breaking the Islamic Republic’s rigorous clothing code, the 22-year-old woman passed away. The Islamic hijab, which is required for women to wear, has been openly removed by several women who have taken a prominent role in the protests. Since the protests started, at least four people have been put to death after hasty trials behind closed doors. Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been keeping track of the protests, claims that at least 519 people have died and more than 19,200 others have been arrested. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the movement has grown to be one of the biggest threats to Shiite Iran’s theocracy. Despite the European Parliament’s request last week for them to do so, the EU’s foreign ministers will not proceed with blacklisting the Guard while meeting in Brussels. Instead, they will target more officials with asset freezes and travel bans. Josep Borrell, the head of the EU’s foreign policy, who presided over the conference, stated that this could only occur once the Guard is found guilty of terrorist crimes by a court in one of the member nations. He told reporters, “It is something that cannot be decided without a court judgement first. Officials in Europe are also concerned that blacklisting the Guard would effectively put an end to any chance the bloc may have of reviving the Iran nuclear deal, which has been put on hold since the Trump administration withdrew from the internationally approved agreement in 2018. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.