Brussels, 16 September 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The European Union on Friday imposed more sanctions on Iran over human rights violations ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Jina Mahsa Amini last September.

Four individuals and six organizations responsible for serious human rights violations are targeted by the latest round of sanctions, a press release said.

A high-ranking commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), other police commanders, the director of the Kachui prison as well as the prison itself are now subject to assets freezes and travel bans to the EU.

Earlier on Friday, the EU had threatened to tighten the sanctions on the Iranian government, ahead of the anniversary on Saturday. The death of 22-year-old Amini in police custody last year sparked a nationwide protest movement which has had a lasting impact on Iran's politics and society.

The EU and its 27 members strongly reiterated their support for the fundamental rights of Iranian women and men, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on behalf of member states.

All those arbitrarily detained should be released immediately, including EU citizens and those with dual nationality, he said.

The statement said Amini's death triggered calls to respect, protect and uphold people's universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Iranian authorities responded by trying to repress the wave of protests, resulting in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests, wrote the EU.

"Freedom of opinion and expression and other civic freedoms have been increasingly curtailed," the statement said.

The EU has already put more than four dozen organizations and more than 200 representatives of the government, parliament, judiciary and military on its sanctions list in recent months.

Morality police had arrested Amini for allegedly not having worn her headscarf correctly. In custody, she fell into a coma under unexplained circumstances and died.

Photo: MIA archive