Canada Issues New Sanctions On Iran, For Rights Violations

Canada imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, Russia and Myanmar Friday, citing human rights violations by their governments.

Sanctions were imposed on 22 individuals in Iran, who included senior members of the judiciary, prison system and law enforcement, as well as political leaders, such as senior aides to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and figures in state-directed media outlets, the statement added.

Sanctions on Iran came a day after the Islamic Republic hanged a man convicted in a sham trial of injuring a security guard with a knife and blocking a street in Tehran, the first such execution over recent anti-government unrest. Nationwide protests erupted after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on September 16.

Western countries have issued repeated statements condemning the government in Tehran for gross disregard of the rights of protesters and have imposed some sanctions on individuals and entities. But they have not imposed more serious economic sanctions or designation of it top leaders for killing of civilians.

The measures also included sanctions against 33 current or former senior Russian officials and six entities involved in alleged "systematic human rights violations" against Russian citizens who protested against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Canadian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,500 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

"There is more work to be done, but Canada will never stop standing up for human rights," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said.