Following the death of Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish-Iranian woman who died last Friday in the custody of Iran’s morality police after being arrested for improper hijab, the US Treasury Department issued sanctions on Thursday against Iran’s morality police and six senior Iranian security officials.
Pointing out that Amini’s death was yet another act of brutality by the Iranian regime’s security forces against its own people, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced the decision after a week of protests on social media and on the streets of Iran.
She underscored that this decision demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s clear commitment to stand up for human rights, and the rights of women, in Iran and globally.
Condemning Iran’s morality police’s unconscionable act and oppression, Yellen called on Tehran to end the violence against women and the ongoing violent crackdown on protesters.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), at least 31 civilians have been killed by Iranian security forces during the latest protests. Iranian media reported that Iran’s intelligence ministry warned citizens on Thursday against attending ongoing anti-government protests, threatening to prosecute those caught at demonstrations.
After the sanctions were announced, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also urged the Iranian government to allow peaceful protests and to end its systemic persecution of women, reiterating the US support for human rights in Iran and calls to hold those who violate them to account.
Seven senior leaders of Iran’s security organizations including the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), the Army’s Ground Forces, Basij Resistance Forces, and Law Enforcement Forces, were also designated by the Treasury Department.
The Department holds them responsible for routinely suppressing peaceful protesters, political dissidents, women’s rights activists, members of Iranian civil society, and members of the Iranian Baha’i community by employing violence.
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