PRESS RELEASE : UK sanctions Iranian Prosecutor General following execution of Alireza Akbari [January 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 14 January 2023.
The UK has sanctioned with immediate effect Iran’s Prosecutor General, following the execution of British-Iranian dual national Alireza Akbari.
Alireza Akbari was executed by the Iranian regime earlier today – a politically motivated act which underlines this regime’s complete disregard for human life. Iran’s use of the death penalty accelerated in 2022, with a growing number of individuals put to death often after deeply flawed legal processes
Iran’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, is one of the most powerful figures in Iran’s judiciary and responsible for the trial process and the use of the death penalty.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:
The Prosecutor General is at the heart of Iran’s barbaric use of the death penalty for political ends. Sanctioning him today underlines our disgust at Alireza Akbari’s execution and our commitment to holding the regime to account for its appalling human rights violations.
While Montazeri has been Prosecutor General, the Iranian regime has also executed 4 individuals in relation to ongoing protests. In response to the brutal crackdown, the UK has imposed more than 40 new sanctions on the regime, including 6 individuals linked to the Revolutionary Courts who have been responsible for prosecuting protestors with egregious sentences including the death penalty.
The sanctions impose an asset freeze and UK travel ban on Jafar Motazeri and send a wider signal on the UK’s commitment to backing condemnation with action.
