By Louis Goss
Britain’s Labour Party has called for new sanctions to be imposed on those engaged in suppressing protests in Iran.
The UK’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, called for new “sanctions against individuals and organisations involved in the suppression” of the protests that have swept Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in September.
Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in custody on 16 September after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for violations of the country’s hijab laws.
At least 500 people have been killed in the Iranian government’s response to the protests that erupted across the country following Amini’s death, figures from the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRNA) show.
More than 18,000 protestors have also been arrested by Iran’s security forces in the protests that have been described by critics of the regime as the biggest challenge to the Iranian government since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the HRNA figures show.
“The killings and repression being carried out by the Iranian regime against courageous Iranian protestors seeking a better future is appalling,” Lammy said. “There must be an end to impunity.”
The Labour Party is calling for Magnitsky-style sanctions to be imposed on individuals and organisations involved in suppressing the protests.
The UK’s Magnitsky Act was introduced in 2020 following the death of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, after he was taken into custody in 2009.
Magnitsky had sought to expose Russian government corruption whilst working for Browder’s Hermitage Capital before he was arrested in November 2008.
Magnitsky’s death, following a 358 stint in Moscow’s Butyrka prison, led to a campaign by Hermitage Capital co-founder Bill Browder which eventually resulted in sanctions being imposed on those involved in Magnitsky’s death.
Magnitsky sanctions let the UK government impose travel bans and assets freezes on individuals listed under the regime.
Labour also called for the “urgent commencement” of the UN Human Rights Council’s investigation into whether any crimes have been committed by the Iranian regime.
“The Iranian regime must be held accountable for every crime it has committed through an urgent investigation by the UN Human Rights Council,” Lammy said.
The post Labour Party calls for new sanctions on Iran appeared first on CityAM.
