ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Saturday summoned the British ambassador following London’s decision to sanction Iranian officials connected to Tehran’s judicial and prison system.
UK ambassador to Iran Simon Shercliff was summoned on Saturday, for the fifth time since the ongoing protests sparked by the death of Zhina Amini while in police custody began on September 16.
In the past three months, at least 15 foreign envoys have been summoned in Tehran, in which almost all are western countries which Tehran accuses of interfering in internal affairs.
The UK on Friday sanctioned over 10 Iranian officials, accusing them of adopting "egregious sentences including the death penalty" against anti-regime demonstrators.
"This includes six individuals linked to the Revolutionary Courts that have been responsible for prosecuting protestors with egregious sentences including the death penalty," the government in London said.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said “our sanctions go further to punish those who violate our most fundamental rights".
Last week, Tehran carried out its first known execution of a protester, hanging 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari and sparking outrage and condemnation from human rights watchdogs and western countries.
Cleverly said he was “outraged” by the news of the execution, adding, “the world cannot turn a blind eye to the abhorrent violence committed by the Iranian regime against its own people.”
Australia on Saturday announced new sanctions on several individuals and two entities, including the controversial morality police and the Basij, the militia linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).
Last month, Cleverly had summoned Iranian representative for Tehran’s “serious threats” against journalists in the United Kingdom.
Amini’s death and the mass protests that followed have been widely covered by London-based Farsi-language media such as BBC Persian and Iran International.
The Iranian foreign ministry protested what it calls the United Kingdom's support for "terror and unrest", and its sanctions.
The bloody crackdown by authorities has so far resulted in the death of at least 485 protesters including 68 children, while thousands have been arrested, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
