SW News: The Canadian government announced on Monday that it had imposed sanctions on Iranian judges for suspected violations of human rights. It added that the move would forbid business with the judges and freeze any Canadian assets they might have had.

This is the 12th package of sanctions since October 2022, and it builds on Canada’s efforts to align with designations announced by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "Today's list sanctions seven individuals for their role in gross and systematic human rights violations in Iran's criminal justice system, particularly Iran's Revolutionary Courts," said the Canadian government in a statement.

Canada said that Iran’s judges and courts had handed down "notorious" death sentences and severe jail terms as a result of "sham trials and based on evidence gathered under torture."

The statement said as an institution closely tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence, the Revolutionary Courts are notorious for issuing death sentences and harsh prison terms following sham trials based on evidence gathered under torture.

The list of those sanctioned includes Morteza Barati, Judge, Esfahan Revolutionary Court; Hadi Mansouri, Judge, Mashhad Revolutionary Court; Musa Asif Al Hosseini, Judge, Karaj Revolutionary Court; Seyed Mahmoud Sadati, Judge, Shiraz Revolutionary Court; Mehrdad Tahamtan, Shiraz Advisory Judge of the Criminal Court; Mohammad Moghiseh, Judge, Supreme Court – Tehran Revolutionary Court and Heidar Asiyabi, Judge, Gorgan Revolutionary Court.
On September 23, 2022, Canada strongly denounced the arbitrary arrest of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in the custody of Iran's Morality Police. The harassment and mistreatment of Iranian women led directly to Amini's suicide. Canada further denounced Iran's brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters as well as its use of force against its own people.

Iran remains impervious to widespread appeals from Canada and the international community to respect the human rights of its citizens and to fulfill its international human rights obligations. On September 26, 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s intention to impose sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities – including the country’s Morality Police – and its leadership.

On October 3, 2022, Canada revised the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations to add an additional 25 people and nine businesses to the list because of Iran's continuous serious violations of international peace and security and/or gross and systemic human rights violations. A comprehensive restriction on deals is currently in effect for those on the list.

Iran's actions overseas, particularly the spread of weapons and harmful cyber activity, continue to undermine global peace and security and show the nation's full contempt for the rules-based international order. These acts are in addition to their appalling behavior at home. Iran continues to disseminate fabricated stories to support its goals through state-sponsored disinformation. On June 16, 2023, Canada further amended the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations to list the additional seven judges for gross and systematic violations of human rights in Iran’s Revolutionary Courts.