EU ponders new sanctions on Iran over 'shocking' violence against anti-hijab protesters

The European Union (EU) is likely to impose sanctions on Iran amid a government crackdown on the protestors over the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman. According to media reports, the final decision will be taken at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxemburg on Monday. In the upcoming session, which is mainly said to be focused on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, EU relations with China, and November’s ‘Cop 27’ United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, has hinted at imposing sanctions on Tehran.

In a tweet, the EU Chief called on the Iranian government to stop the violence on protestors and asserted that "women must be given the right to choose". "The brave Iranian women demand freedom and equality - values that Europe believes in and must speak up for. The violence must stop. Women must be able to choose. This shocking violence cannot stay unanswered. It’s time to sanction those responsible for this repression," said a top EU official.

Amid anti-hijab protests, Germany calls to impose sanctions

Earlier last month, Germany’s foreign minister called the 27-member bloc to ban the entry of those responsible for what she described as brutal repression against anti-government protesters in Iran. Also, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock asked the EU to freeze the assets of the top Iranian authorities. “Those who beat up women and girls on the street, carry off people who want nothing other than to live freely, arrest them arbitrarily and sentence them to death stand on the wrong side of history,” Baerbock was quoted as telling Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

“We will ensure that the EU imposes entry bans on those responsible for this brutal repression and freezes their assets in the EU,” she added. “We say to people in Iran: We stand and remain by your side.” 

Earlier last week, the EU Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the woman's killing. The parliament instructed all member states to use the mechanisms envisaged in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders to support and protect protesters. However, it did not reach or reveal any conclusion about what sanctions Iran may face.  Besides, last month, several countries including, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom imposed stringent sanctions on Tehran's so-called morality police. 

Why Iran is boiling over the death of a 22-yr-old?

The major controversy erupted after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the so-called “morality police”, claiming that the woman was not wearing the hijab properly. Although police released a video of Amini collapsing after fainting in the police station, protestors alleged she had suffered serious injuries during police custody. A relative has said she had no history of heart disease. The Kasra hospital in Tehran, where police took Amini after she collapsed and slipped into a coma, said she was brought in without vital signs. Since the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman, a debate has sparked against the "morality police" in the Islamic Republic. 

Also, this sparked a major controversy in the country, with Iranian protesters chanting anti-government slogans and calling for the death of the "dictator government". At several locations, protestors turned violent and torched public properties. Though the police said there were no injuries in the protest, several videos of people facing grave injuries surfaced on social media platforms. In some videos, police were seen firing tearing gas, batons and water cannons. According to multiple media reports, more than 200 protestors have been killed in the protests in the last month.

Image: AP