EU bolsters sanctions on Iran over alleged human rights abuse
Iran Press TV
Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:18PM GMT
Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) have imposed sanctions against nine Iranian individuals over allegations of "serious human rights violations."
During their meeting in Brussels on Monday, EU ministers approved travel bans and asset freezes for the nine Iranians while the assets of a public sector institution, also linked to alleged violations of human rights, will be frozen, unnamed diplomats said.
The ministers also extended the bloc’s previous human rights bans targeting other Iranian officials for another year, until April 2014.
The names of the institution and the nine individuals will be published on Tuesday, when the sanctions will take effect.
The new measures come after the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed released his fourth report in late February accusing Iran of ‘violations of human rights’.
The Iranian government dismissed the recent UN report, calling it unsubstantiated, biased, and a repetition of the Western allegations against Tehran.
On March 2, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Shaheed collates the information he uses to write reports accusing Iran of human rights violations from anti-Iranian media outlets and terrorist groups.
Secretary-General of Iran's High Council for Human Rights Mohammad Javad Larijani also said on March 7 that Shaheed is bribed by the United States to write reports accusing Iran of human rights violations.
"The money the special rapporteur [Ahmed Shaheed] has received from the US State Department has prevented him from writing anything contrary to their wishes," Larijani added.
Under pressure from the US and its allies, the UN Human Rights Council named the former Maldivian foreign minister as its human rights investigator for Iran on June 17, 2011.
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