The U.S. Sanctions Evin Prison, Ansar Hezbollah, and the Head of Iran's Broadcasting Organization

The U.S. Treasury Department announced that several individuals and entities in Iran have been added to the sanctions list for human rights violations, censorship, and severe surveillance of citizens. Included in this list are Evin Prison, Ansar Hezbollah, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization, and the software company Hanista. In a statement released on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department indicated that these sanctions target organizations and individuals acting on behalf of these organizations who commit human rights violations and engage in censorship, filtering, and heavy monitoring of virtual users. Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, stated: 'Iran not only exports terrorism and instability to the world but also regularly violates the rights of its own citizens. The Iranian regime spends national resources that should be allocated to Iranians on expensive censorship and repression of freedom of expression programs.' He added: 'Those who speak out about mismanagement and corruption in Iran face inappropriate treatment and end up in prison. The U.S. stands with the people of Iran, and the Treasury Department holds accountable those who commit human rights violations, censorship, and other misconduct against their own citizens.' According to the statement, Ansar Hezbollah is sanctioned as an entity and individuals active or associated with it, including affiliated militants, for being involved in directing, executing, and organizing actions that constitute human rights violations against citizens or residents of Iran and their families. The Basij Resistance Force and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were previously sanctioned in June 2011 for human rights violations. The statement further noted that Ansar Hezbollah is linked to acid attacks on women in Isfahan, where women not adhering to Islamic dress codes have faced acid attacks. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Abdulhamid Mohtasham, a founder and executive member of Ansar Hezbollah, has been sanctioned. Hossein Allahkaram and Hamid Ostad have also been included in the sanctions list due to their membership in Ansar Hezbollah. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Evin Prison for being a tool of the Ministry of Intelligence and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for human rights violations and harassment of citizens. The statement mentioned that the software company Hanista has been added to the sanctions list for its involvement in monitoring, tracking, eavesdropping, and severe disruption of networks and censorship, assisting the Islamic Republic in these matters. The statement indicates that Hanista has created two applications named Mobogram and Moboplus, which are tools for monitoring and storing the activities of Iranian citizens. The data collected by this company, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, could be used to exert pressure and violate human rights, made available to the IRGC and the Ministry of Intelligence. Abdolhasan Firouzabadi has been sanctioned for his involvement in filtering, including blocking Telegram, and Abdolsamad Khoramabadi has been sanctioned for his role in censorship and suppression of the right to access free information. Abdolali Aliaskari, the current head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization, has also been added to the sanctions list for distorting facts, imposing censorship, and functioning as a tool for the IRGC. The assets and properties of those sanctioned have been seized in the U.S., and any entity, organization, or individual that has financial, assistance, support, or trade connections with them will be added to the sanctions list and prosecuted. The U.S. government has recently intensified the process of imposing sanctions against Iran.