Latest news with #NajiIbrahimSharifi-Zindashti
Shafaq News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
EU sanctions 8 Iranians, an entity
Shafaq News – Brussels/Tehran On Monday, the European Council imposed sanctions on eight individuals and one entity over what it described as 'serious human rights violations' linked to Iran, including 'extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and transnational repression' targeting dissidents beyond its borders. In a statement, the Council said the sanctioned parties were responsible for 'grave abuses' committed on behalf of Iranian state bodies abroad, particularly against individuals who voiced criticism of the Islamic Republic's policies. The measures were enacted under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. At the center of the sanctions is the Zindashti Network, which the EU identified as a 'criminal organization connected to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).' The group is accused of orchestrating 'multiple acts of transnational repression,' including the assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad—some reportedly carried out within EU territory. Sanctioned individuals include Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, labeled by the EU as an 'Iranian narcotics trafficker and organized crime boss,' and head of the Zindashti Network. His alleged accomplices — Abdulvahap Kocak, Ali Esfanjani, Ali Kocak, Ekrem Oztunc, and Nihat Asan — were cited for their involvement in the killings of Iranian dissident Mas'ud Molavi Vardanjani and Saeed Karimian, the owner of Persian-language broadcaster Gem TV. The EU also listed Mohammed Ansari, Commander of Unit 840 of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, accusing him of 'ordering the assassination of journalists critical of the Islamic Republic.' Additionally, Reza Hamidiravari, an intelligence officer with the MOIS, was sanctioned for 'overseeing Naji Zindashti's MOIS-directed operations.' Those named are now subject to an asset freeze, a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to them directly or indirectly, and a travel ban within the European Union.
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
EU sanctions Iranian individuals accused of targeting dissidents
BRUSSELS - The EU has imposed sanctions on eight people and one entity responsible for the targeting of Iranian dissidents for assassination on behalf of Iran's government, the European Council said in a statement on Tuesday. The sanctions, over what it called "serious human rights violations" and "transnational repression", included asset freezes and travel bans, the council said. The Council listed the Zindashti Network, which it said was a criminal group connected to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security that has carried out numerous acts of transnational repression, including assassinations of Iranian dissidents. It also included the Zindashti Network's boss Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti - who it said was an Iranian narcotics trafficker and organised crime boss - and some of his associates. Zindashti and his network have previously been sanctioned by the United States. The Council, the European Union's governing body, is also targeting Mohammed Ansari, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Unit 840, who it said ordered the assassination of journalists critical of the Islamic Republic. It said that the listings confirmed the EU's concerns about transnational repression by Iranian state bodies through the use of proxy agents, in particular involving criminals and organised crime networks targeting dissidents and human rights defenders across the world, including on EU territory. REUTERS
