Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 24 / Trend T.Konyayeva /
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomed the addition of two Iranian officials by the United States government to its list of human rights offenders as well as reports that six European Union (EU) member states have called for targeted sanctions against Iranian officials committed grave human rights abuses. The Campaign reiterated its call for governments around the world to blacklist such officials, the Organization's official statement said.
"As citizens in Iran and throughout the Middle East protest for their rights, EU-wide sanctions against perpetrators will show the Iranian people that Europe understands their plight and is trying to change it for the better," the statement quoted spokesperson for the Campaign Hadi Ghaemi as saying.
The United States on Wednesday slapped financial and travel sanctions on two Iranian government officials , who were implicated in a crackdown on protesters in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 elections.
The US targeted Mohammed Reza Naqdi, Commander of the Revolutionary Guard's Basij militia forces, as well as the Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, who charged many protesters with crimes that carried the death penalty.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the two "were involved in the commission of serious human-rights abuses during or after Iran's 2009 presidential election."
Carney said additional Iranian officials could be targeted for their roles in the 2009 violence, in which many opposition protesters were killed.
Ghaemi believes "the very single indictment against dissidents in Tehran bears Dolatabadi's signature."
"His role in trampling the rights of detainees is indisputable," he said.
According to the statement, Dolatabadi is also among the top Iranian officials responsible for an execution binge in which over 110 persons have been put to death since the beginning of 2011. The 1500 persons arbitrarily detained for peaceful protests on 14 and 20 February are at risk of facing trumped-up charges.
Basij militia under Naqdi's command have been at the forefront of violence and repression against civilians attempting to exercise their human rights since the tainted 2009 presidential election, including on 14 and 20 February 2011, when, under Naqdi's orders, they beat peaceful demonstrators with electric batons, chains, and clubs, the statement reads.
According to the report, under Naqdi's command, the Basij leadership has ruthlessly exploited thousands of poor and vulnerable Iranian teenagers, extending material inducements and promises to lure them into a militia unit that routinely intimidates and terrorizes the population.
"The Basij are both victimizers and victims. Child soldiers bear the heavy burden of carrying out misguided and criminal policies," Ghaemi said.
The UK , France, Germany, Greece, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands reportedly favor EU-wide sanctions.
In its statement the Campaign is urging, in particular, the governments of Canada, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand, in which known Iranian human rights offenders are most likely to hold assets or travel, to also institute asset freezes and travel bans against them.
"The continuing and worsening human rights crisis in Iran obligates members of the international community to take actions that have concrete impact, and that demonstrate moral condemnation," tha statement quotes Ghaemi.
According to Ghaemi, targeting Iranian officials implicated in gross human rights violations is a powerful way for the international community to respond to the unfolding human rights crisis in that country.
On 29 September 2010, the United States government blacklisted eight Iranian officials under the terms of Executive Order 13553, which freezes assets located in the United States of those designated, and subjects them to visa bans.