Australia Uses its New Magnitsky-Style Laws to Sanction Iran and Russia

In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, Iranians protests the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police last month, in Tehran, Oct. 27, 2022. The Canadian Press/Middle East Images

Australia is using its new Magnitsky laws to implement sanctions on 13 individuals and two entities from Iran, including members of Iran’s Morality Police and the Basij Resistance Force and six Iranian individuals who have been intrinsically involved in the crackdown on protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa ‘Jina’ Amini.

Announcing the sanctions on Dec. 10, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Penny Wong, said that the sanctions were in response to egregious human rights violations and abuses.

“These sanctions target grievous human rights situations where the perpetrators continue to act with impunity,” she said. “The listings demonstrate the Australian Government’s commitment to take clear action to assert our values and to hold perpetrators of serious human rights violations and abuses to account.”

The human rights sanctions come as protests spurred by Amini’s death continue into their third month in Iran.

Amini died on Sept. 16 in suspicious circumstances after the country’s morality police arrested her for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.

Thousands of Iranians have been protesting almost daily despite an increasingly violent crackdown from Iranian authorities. The regime’s suppression of protesters includes alleged arbitrary arrests and detentions, gender-based and sexual violence, excessive use of force, torture, enforced disappearances, and executions.

Currently, 30 youth groups from across Iran, that claim responsibility for organising many of the protests and strikes around the country since mid-October, announced they have formed an alliance called the United Youth of Iran (UYI) to mobilise for regime change. According to a statement of belief published by UYI on Twitter, the new alliance is seeking to return Iran to a secular state.

Protesters chant slogans during a protest over the death of a woman who was detained by the morality police in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 21, 2022. Obtained by AP

As well as the human rights sanctions, targeted financial sanctions will also be imposed on three Iranian individuals and one business which has been supplying military drones to Russia for use in the Ukrainian conflict.

“Russia is using Iranian-made drones to target civilians and critical infrastructure, with the intention of denying Ukrainian people energy, heating, and water as they face freezing winter temperatures,” Wong said. “The supply of drones to Russia is evidence of the role Iran plays in destabilising global security. This listing highlights that those who provide material support to Russia will face consequences.”

Drones during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran in an undated photo. (Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters)

Australia joins US and UK in Sanctioning Attackers of Opposition Leader

Wong also said Australia would sanction seven Russian individuals involved in the attempted assassination of former opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

An updated version of the Australian sanctions list published by the government now includes Alexey Alexandrov, Kirill Vasilyev, Vladimir Panyaev, Roman Mezentsev, Ivan Osipov, Vladimir Bogdanov, Stanislav Makshakov.

Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking to a crowd during a political protest in Moscow, Russia, on July 20, 2019. Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo

The sanctions on the seven Russians follow U.S. and UK sanctions on the men, which were implemented in 2021. According to the British Foreign Office, all men are alleged to be members of Russian FSB security services and were suspected of having been involved in the attempt to assassinate Navalny.

Navalny was flown to Germany for medical treatment after being poisoned in Siberia on Aug. 20, 2020, with what Western experts concluded was the military nerve agent Novichok.

Moscow has rejected the findings and accused the West of a smear campaign against the Russian government.

Navalny has since recovered from the attack and is now incarcerated in prison following being found guilty of fraud and contempt of court in March. He was sentenced to nine years in a maximum security prison and was fined 1.2 million rubles (about $11,500).