UK imposes sanctions on Iran's 'morality police' after Mahsa Amini's death

Liz Truss' government has imposed sanctions on so-called morality police and other senior security officials amid widespread protests across the country and accusations of human rights abuses.

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets in protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by police in Tehran for allegedly breaking Iran's strict Islamic dress code.

The The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced on Monday that it had sanctioned the regime's morality police "in its entirety", along with five senior political figures. and security forces in Iran for "committing serious human rights abuses".

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly sai d Britain "stands with the people of Iran who courageously demands that his government be held to account and that his basic human rights are respected."

He added: "These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities - we will hold you accountable for your crackdown on women and girls, and for the shocking violence you have inflicted on your own people.

The FCDO said it had also sanctioned Vice Police Chief Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi and Tehran Division Chief Haj Ahmed Mirzaei.

He said sanctions were being imposed on "five senior political and security officials in Iran for committing serious human rights abuses".

Those sanctioned also include Gholamreza Soleimani , leader of the Basij Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for internal security in Iran; Hassan Karami, Commander of the Naja Special Forces Unit of the Iranian Police; and Hossein Ashtari, Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Police.

Last week, the Foreign Office summoned Iran's top diplomat to the UK, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, over the crackdown on protests across the country.

Protests continue across Iran following the September 16 death of Ms. Amini in the custody of the country's vice police in Tehran.

The Iranian government has claimed Ms Amini was not abused, but her family say her body showed bruises and other signs of beatings.

The sanctions are intended to ensure that those listed cannot not travel to the UK and any of their assets held in the UK, or by British people anywhere, will be frozen.

"For decades, the morality police used the threat of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in p ublic,” the FCDO said.

The Truss government also cited what it described as reports of live ammunition being fired at protesters and the killing of protester corpses. buried by the security services without the knowledge of their families.