Sydney
\nAustralia\u2019s foreign minister said on Saturday the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called \u201cegregious\u201d human rights violations.
\nForeign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Australia was imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions on 13 individuals and two entities, including Iran\u2019s Morality Police and Basij Resistance Force, and six Iranians involved in the crackdown on protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody in September.
\nIn an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, Wong said the sanctions applied to Seyed Sadegh Hosseini, whom she described as a senior commander of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was being listed for his alleged role in \u201cindiscriminate use of violence against protesters\u201d. \u201cThe Iranian regime\u2019s flagrant and widespread disregard for the human rights of its own people has appalled Australians, and the perpetrators must be held accountable,\u201d Wong wrote in the newspaper on Saturday.
\nSeven Russians involved in what the foreign minister said was the attempted assassination of former opposition leader Alexei Navalny would also have human rights sanctions imposed on them, Wong said in her statement, issued with Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts.
\nIn addition to human rights sanctions, Wong said Australia was placing further targeted financial sanctions on three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying drones to Russia for use against Ukraine.
\n\u201cThe supply of drones to Russia is evidence of the role Iran plays in destabilising global security. This listing highlights that those who provide material support to Russia will face consequences,\u201d she said.
\nThe announcement comes after Australia\u2019s centre-left Labour government in October imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials after President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sydney Australia\u2019s foreign minister said on Saturday the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called \u201cegregious\u201d human rights violations. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement Australia was imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions on 13 individuals and two entities, including Iran\u2019s Morality Police and Basij Resistance Force, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-300672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n