Canada Sanctions Seven Iranian Revolutionary Court Judges for Human Rights Violations

Melanie Joly, Canada's Foreign Minister, announced that the country is imposing a new round of sanctions against Iran. In this new round of sanctions, conducted under Canada's Special Economic Measures Regulations, seven judges of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts have been added to the sanctions list due to their role in 'gross and organized human rights violations' within the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, particularly in the Revolutionary Courts. The statement from the Canadian Foreign Ministry notes that the Revolutionary Courts, as institutions affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence, are notorious for issuing death sentences and brutal imprisonments following sham trials based on evidence collected under torture. The judges from the Revolutionary Courts in Isfahan, Mashhad, Karaj, Shiraz (two judges), Golestan, and Tehran are named in this list. Mohammad Mogheiseh, a judge of the Supreme Court and the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, is among those sanctioned. The European Union had previously barred 32 Iranian officials, including Mogheiseh, from entering EU countries on April 12, 2011, due to their role in violating the rights of Iranian citizens. The U.S. Treasury also included Mogheiseh in its sanctions list on December 19, 2019, for his involvement in punishing Iranians and dual nationals. This is the twelfth sanctions package that Canada has imposed against the Islamic Republic since October 2022 and aligns with Canada's efforts to synchronize with the sanctions lists of the EU, the UK, and the U.S. Under the recent sanctions, transactions with these seven judges are prohibited, and any assets they may have in Canada will be frozen. Individuals listed for gross and organized human rights violations are deemed inadmissible under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The Canadian Foreign Ministry stated that 'we will continue to pressure the Iranian regime to be accountable for the legitimate grievances of its people, including respecting human rights and freedoms and their ability to live and thrive in a society free from fear, repression, intimidation, and violence by the state.' Canada has explicitly opposed the use of the death penalty in all cases and everywhere, as it considers it a form of punishment inconsistent with human rights and human dignity.