MADRID, Dec. 12 (.) –
The Government of New Zealand has announced this Monday travel bans against members of the Iranian security forces linked to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly, and the repression of the protests that broke out after the incident, which has been going on for nearly three months and has left hundreds dead.
Among the 22 sanctioned are the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hosein Salami; Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani; Police Commander Hosein Ashtari; and the head of the ‘morality police’, Mohamed Rostami, according to a statement published by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its website.
“What happened to Mahsa Amini is inexcusable. New Zealand remains on the side of the people of Iran, especially women and girls,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who indicated that “New Zealand will always firmly defend the right to peaceful protest and greater civil and political liberties and condemns the actions of the Iranian authorities in their brutal crackdown on protesters simply for calling for universal basic rights.”
Thus, it has stressed that the authorities of the oceanic country “will continue to respond together with international partners to condemn the violence, seek greater scrutiny of the events in Iran, support an investigation by an external independent body and ask the authorities to reduce your answer and commute all death sentences”.
The New Zealand Foreign Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, has noted that “the travel bans send a message that we will not tolerate the denial of basic human rights and the violent repression of protests in Iran,” before adding that the authorities “They continue to explore other measures to send a clear signal that the repressive stance against its population leaves Iran outside of globally accepted values at the Human Rights level.”
“New Zealand has already applied sanctions against Iranian individuals and companies under United Nations sanctions, involving asset freezes and export bans. Today we are going a step further to take action against officials linked to the death of Mahsa Amini and the crackdown on the subsequent protests”, he explained, before detailing that among those affected there are members of the ‘morality police’ and the Revolutionary Guard.
Mahuta also recalled that the country “supported the efforts in the UN Human Rights Council” to push forward a resolution that calls for the creation of an investigative mission on Human Rights violations in Iran, before noting that “in addition to the multilateral efforts, direct steps have been taken to redraw the relationship with Iran, including indefinitely suspending the Human Rights Dialogue and asking New Zealand travelers in Iran to leave the country.”
“We have also supported international initiatives to respect media freedom and condemn Internet blockades in Iran. These travel bans are not the end of our sanctions. Adding other people and new measures are being considered,” the headline has settled. of the New Zealand Foreign Office.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard recently confirmed that more than 300 people have died since the start of the protests, which was the first official balance since the start of the mobilizations over the death of Amini, a member of the Iranian Kurdish minority. The figure is lower than that provided by NGOs, which point to more than 400 deaths due to the repression by the security forces.
