- Bravery of Iranian women commended by UK Foreign Secretary on
anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death as he underlines the UK’s
commitment to standing with the Iranian people as they call for
fundamental rights.
- UK, US, Canada andAustralia announce coordinated
sanctions on Iranian officials to mark anniversary.
- UK sanctions focus on senior decision makers responsible for
enforcing Iran’s mandatory hijab law, including the Minister for
Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Mayor of Tehran and the Iranian
Police spokesperson.
The Foreign Secretary has commended the bravery of the Iranian
people a year on from the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of
the Morality Police.
Marking the anniversary tomorrow, the UK, US, Canada and
Australia have imposed coordinated sanctions on Iranian officials
and entities.
The UK’s sanctions focus on senior Iranian decision makers
responsible for drafting and implementing Iran’s mandatory hijab
legislation.
Iran’s existing legislation prohibits women and girls from
choosing what they wear, with punishments for refusing to wear a
hijab including time in prison and severe fines.
Foreign Secretary said:
A year on from Mahsa Amini’s tragic death at the hands of Iran’s
Morality Police, I commend the bravery of Iranian women as they
continue to fight for fundamental freedoms.
Today’s sanctions on those responsible for Iran’s oppressive laws
send a clear message that the UK and our partners will continue
to stand with Iranian women and call out the repression it is
inflicting on its own people.
Today’s sanctions include:
- Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili - Minister of Culture and Islamic
Guidance.
- Mohammad Hashemi - Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic
Guidance.
- Alireza Zakani - Mayor of Tehran.
- Saeed Montazer Al-Mahdi - Iranian Police Spokesman.
The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance is responsible for
ensuring adherence to government dress codes within Iranian
society. As examples, Esmaili declared that actresses who remove
the hijab in public or social media can no longer continue their
careers in acting, and that action would be taken against
businesses whose female employees failed to adhere to mandatory
hijab requirements.
The Police Spokesperson Al-Mahdi threatened that the regime will
‘deal firmly’ with those women who removed their hijab, including
for example by impounding the cars of women caught driving
without hijab.
The Morality Police’s activities reduced following the outbreak
of protests after Mahsa Amini’s death and a raft of international
sanctions, including by the UK, but earlier this year its forces
have reappeared as part of a renewed crackdown on women in Iran.
This has included specific punishments against women for failing
to wear the hijab, including being prevented from using the
Tehran Metro, and female actors banned from working by the
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
The UK has imposed sanctions on more than 350 Iranian officials
and entities, including the Prosecutor General and the IRGC in
its entirety, and announced its
intention to create a new sanctions regime earlier this year to
target decision makers in Iran for hostile activities in the UK
and around the world. The UK has previously sanctioned the
Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, responsible for
women’s dress codes in Iran.
Since Mahsa Amini’s death, the Iranian regime has been
increasingly isolated by the international community, and faced
growing sanctions’ pressure in response to serious human rights
violations against its own people, and supply of UAV related
technology to Russia for use in Ukraine. In December 2022, Iran
was removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Further information
- The UK has also today sanctioned Arvan Cloud, an internet
cloud service provider which is responsible for providing
technology used to repress the Iranian people. Arvan Cloud is a
key partner of Iran’s Information and Communications Technology
Ministry and is supporting the development of a countrywide
intranet that is being used to disconnect the Iranian people from
the global internet.