Canada on Monday sanctioned Iran’s morality police and held it responsible for the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on 16 September, an event that has sparked the biggest anti-regime protests in Iran since November 2019. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the move as Iranian security forces continue their brutal crackdown on anti-hijab protesters, with the death toll rising to 76 on Monday.
“Today, I’m announcing that we will implement sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities, including Iran’s so called morality police,” Trudeau said during a press conference in Ottawa. “We’ve seen Iran disregarding human rights time and time again, now we see it with the death of Mahsa Amini and the crackdown on protests,” he noted.
He vowed that Canada would extend its support to women’s rights in Iran and thousands of women demanding their freedoms. “We are with you,” Trudeau proclaimed, adding that the voices of all Canadians have joined millions of people around the world in demanding that the Iranian government listen to its people. He also called on the regime to “end their repression of freedom and rights, and let women and all Iranian people live their lives and express themselves peacefully.”
Following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, the Iranian regime has been cracking down brutally on protesters, particularly women. In response, we’ll sanction dozens of individuals and entities – including Iran’s so-called “morality police.” pic.twitter.com/fr8ZAPWAUM
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 27, 2022
Trudeau’s decision came three days after the United States (US) sanctioned the morality police and the leaders of Iran’s security apparatus. The US, too, claimed that the morality police was behind Amini’s death.
The Guardian Patrol, also known as the morality police, detained Amini, an ethnic Kurd, in Tehran on 13 September for not wearing the hijab in a way that fully covered her hair; she died three days later. Her family, protesters, and the international community accuse members of the morality police of torturing her to death. Iranian security officials, however, maintain that Amini died of a heart attack.
Her death sparked the biggest anti-regime protests in years, with tens of thousands of Iranians demanding an end to religious mandates for almost two weeks. The government has unleashed security forces and paramilitary groups in response.
Remember when women got free from ISIS, they took off their compulsory veiling and burned them all. Now Iranian women are taking off their hijab, burning them, waving them in air and dancing for freedom.
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) September 26, 2022
We want an end for Islamic states.#MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/5GOtnVM5Lq
The total death toll reached 76 on Monday, the Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRO) claimed. “Videos and death certificates obtained by IHRO confirm live ammunition is being directly fired at protesters,” it claimed, adding that women and children have also been killed.
The organisation said hundreds of people have been wounded and thousands have been arrested so far. It also noted that police have been torturing detainees “to force false televised confessions.”
In addition, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Monday that Iranian forces have arrested at least 20 reporters since the protests began. The police confiscated their phones and did not produce arrest warrants, it noted. “Iranian authorities must immediately release all journalists arrested because of their coverage of Mahsa Amini’s death and the protests that have followed,” it said. The CPJ also called on authorities to restore internet access.
Thread: Sardar Azmoun, an Iranian football player who plays for the Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen & #Iran's national team, declares his support for #IranProtests2022. He is the first player currently playing for the national team to do so. 1/3 #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/d7Ye184VaG
— Reza H. Akbari (@rezahakbari) September 25, 2022
Internet and mobile services across the country remain disrupted. Internet watchdog NetBlocks reported that the regime has imposed the most severe internet restrictions since the November 2019 protests.
Iranian officials, however, claim that the protests are part of a foreign conspiracy and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the ruling government. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani has blamed the US for trying to “weaken Iran’s stability and security.”
Kanaani said Washington is deliberately trying to portray Tehran in a bad light and ignoring the outpouring of support for the government, referring to counter-protests in support of the regime organised by supporters of the regime. Thousands of government sympathisers have gathered in major cities, including Tehran, over the past few days to show their opposition to the anti-hijab protests.