Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has announced sanctions against the perpetrators of repressive measures in view of the ongoing system-critical protests in Iran.
“We will ensure that the EU imposes entry bans on those responsible for this brutal repression and freezes their assets in the EU,” said the Greens politician to “Bild am Sonntag”. The protests continued across the country over the weekend. Slogans critical of the system could be read briefly on state television, which apparently went back to hackers. The country’s political leadership came together for a crisis meeting.
Baerbock told the newspaper: “Anyone who beats up women and girls on the street, abducts people who want nothing more than to live freely, arbitrarily arrests them and sentences them to death is on the wrong side of history.” The calls from the people on the streets of Iran for self-determination are “deafening”.
Protests continue
According to eyewitnesses, the protests continued on Sunday night. Accordingly, the willingness to use violence increased significantly on both sides. The police are said to have not only used tear gas against the demonstrators, but also shot them with paintball ammunition. The demonstrators reportedly threw Molotov cocktails at the officers and set mobile police stations on fire. A young driver was reportedly shot in the head during a demonstration in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj. The police stated that protesters shot him dead, who in turn blamed the police for the death.
The television program in two channels of the state broadcaster IRIB was briefly interrupted on Saturday evening. As the daily newspaper Schargh reported, pictures of some of the women who died during the protests were shown. In addition, the slogan “Get up and join us” could be seen. The group Anonymous, which had already hacked various Iranian authorities in the past few weeks, is said to be responsible for the interruption.
The protests against the Islamic system are entering their fourth week. They began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September. The security forces also used violence against demonstrators. According to observers, at least dozens of people have been killed in connection with the protests and many more have been injured.
