Canada and the United States jointly announced they were imposing new sanctions over the “ongoing repression of the Iranian people” and “oppression and state-sponsored violence against women.”
The two countries condemned Iran’s inhumane acts of violence against protestors, according to the Dec. 9 statement.
“With our partner Canada, we remain committed to imposing costs on the perpetrators of human rights abuses against Iranians,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a post on Twitter. “Everyone in Iran has the right to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.”
Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged Dec. 8 after being convicted of “waging war against God” after allegedly stabbing a paramilitary force member at a protest in Tehran Sept. 23. AP News reported this could be the first execution related to protesting. Iranian state television aired a heavily edited propaganda segment showing the courtroom and parts of Shekari’s trial.
Mahsa Amini died Sept. 13 after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for a violation of the dress code that requires women to mask their hair and neck with a headscarf and wear a loose tunic or coat over their clothes. Al Jazeera reported Iran has taken a firmer stance since women began pushing back in 2017.
Amnesty International recently identified 28 people at risk of execution in relation to an uprising that has been ongoing since September. The Center for Human Rights in Iran can only confirm the names of 10 death row inmates and their locations. At least 475 protesters have been killed and more than 18,240 protesters have been arrested since mid-September, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The U.S. and Canada pledged they committed to finding ways to influence Iran. Canada imposed sanctions on 22 individuals complicit with Iran’s human rights violations, Global Affairs Canada reported.
“As we celebrate the 74th anniversary of @UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its message remains as important today as ever: human rights belong to everyone everywhere,” Blinken said on Twitter.
