The UK has put sanctions on 30 people around the world, including Russian and Iranian officials. The sanctions are aimed at those it says are responsible for torture, sexual violence, and violently putting down street protests.
The move came on Friday, a day after France said that the European Union would impose new sanctions on Iran for violating human rights during its crackdown on protests and for giving Russia drones before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The British government said that its sanctions were planned with international partners to mark International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day.
They were made up of people who were involved in things like torturing prisoners and getting troops to rape civilians.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said in a statement, “Today, our sanctions go even further to find out who is behind the heinous violations of our most basic rights.”
Russian Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin is one of the people who have been given sanctions. He is in charge of the 90th Tank Division, which has been fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.
The government said that there have been many accusations made against active members of the division. For example, a senior lieutenant was found guilty in Ukraine of sexual abuse during the conflict.
Russia says it is carrying out a “special military operation” in Ukraine to get rid of threats to its security. However, it has denied doing war crimes or aiming at civilians.
Britain also put 10 Iranian officials with ties to Iran’s prison system under sanctions. This group included six people with ties to the Revolutionary Courts, which have been in charge of putting protesters on trial and giving them sentences that can include the death penalty.
When 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini died in police custody on September 16, protests broke out all over the country. This was one of the biggest problems the Islamic republic has had since it was founded in 1979.
Ali Cheharmahali and Gholamreza Ziyayi were both former directors of Evin prison in Tehran. The British government said that the prison was known for mistreating both Iranian and foreign inmates.