European Union Extends Human Rights Sanctions Against 82 Iranian Officials

Reports indicate that the European Union has extended sanctions against 82 Iranian officials involved in human rights violations in the country until 2017. According to a report on Monday, April 11, by the Associated Press, the EU has renewed these sanctions despite Tehran recently reaching an agreement with the international community regarding its nuclear dispute. In 2011, the EU placed 82 Iranian officials on its sanctions list due to human rights violations. These sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans. Among those listed are Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the IRGC, Hassan Firouzabadi, chief of staff of the armed forces, Ali Saidi, representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, Hossein Taeb, head of the IRGC intelligence organization, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of the Basij, Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, former commander of the police, as well as Sadegh Larijani, head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, first deputy of the judiciary, Saeed Mortazavi, former Tehran prosecutor, and several judges from revolutionary courts. The EU previously stated that these individuals were placed on the sanctions list due to their 'serious role in human rights violations' in Iran. In the same year, the United States also placed several Iranian officials on its sanctions list for human rights violations. While the EU has extended sanctions against human rights violators in Iran, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, is scheduled to visit Iran on April 17. This will be Mogherini's second trip to Tehran since the nuclear agreement was reached regarding Iran's nuclear program. The EU's foreign policy chief had previously visited Iran in August of last year after signing the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In this context, the EU published the names of 9 Iranians as 'serious human rights violators' and added them to the list of 'human rights violators.' The EU has also added the names of 17 other Iranians to its list of human rights violators, including Sadegh Larijani and Ezzatollah Zarghami. Recent actions by the US against violators of sanctions in Iran and Syria, as well as Ahmad Shahid's warning about a 25% increase in executions in Iran, highlight the ongoing human rights crisis in the country.