Canada places “gross rights abuses” sanctions on Iran, Russia, and Myanmar.
On Friday, Canada put sanctions on 67 people and nine organizations for what it says are “gross and systematic violations of human rights” in a number of countries, including Iran.
The penalties are also aimed at Russia and Myanmar. They are timed to go along with global days for human rights and fighting corruption.
After the religious regime’s first execution of a protester, which caused a lot of anger, the sanctions hurt 22 key members of Iran’s courts, jails, and police, as well as senior advisors to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and state-run media.
In a joint statement, Canada and the United States spoke out against the Islamic regime’s “brutal acts of violence against peaceful protestors and its continuous persecution of the Iranian people,” including its “widespread oppression and state-sponsored violence against women.”
They said that Iranian security forces had arbitrarily jailed thousands of protesters and killed many more, all in an effort to “suppress the people of Iran.”
“In the greatest terms possible, we condemn these harsh penalties.” These words are designed to intimidate and quell resistance. “They won’t function,” Katherine Jean-Pierre, a spokesperson for the White House, later claimed.
The Iranian government “should know that the world is watching,” she said.
Ottawa and Washington said that they were “gravely disturbed” by reports that sexual assault was used “as a horrible way to stop protests” and that protesters were given harsh punishments.
Also, 33 current and former Russian officials and six Russian organizations were hit with sanctions for putting down people who protested what the EU called Moscow’s “illegal invasion of Ukraine and anti-democratic actions.”
12 people and 3 organizations in Myanmar were also hit with sanctions because they helped the junta commit crimes against civilians and helped the regime get weapons.
In a statement, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that justice, freedom, and respect for people are the “pillars” of Canada’s foreign policy.
“As the world watches people’s human rights being violated in nations like Russia, Iran, and Myanmar, we are reminded that the only way to bring about change is to speak up and protect the values we cherish.”
