At a recent hearing before Congress, Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams deplored the Iranian regime’s ongoing “mockery of justice:”
“The Iranians know it well. Just recently, the regime brutally tortured and then shamefully executed champion wrestler Navid Afkari to send to its own people an unmistakable message of intimidation. The U.S. is committed to holding accountable those who deny freedom and justice to the people of Iran.”
To further that goal, on September 24 the United State sanctioned several Iranian officials and entities for gross violations of human rights, including Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court, who oversaw one of a number of the grossly unfair trials of Navid Afkari that resulted in his secret, rushed execution.
Also sanctioned were Judge Mohammad Soltani of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, who, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement, “is responsible for sentencing Baha’is in Iran on dubious charges related to their exercise of freedom of expression or belief.”
In addition, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Adelabad, Orumiyeh and Vakilabad Prisons for gross human rights violations, including torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; arbitrary detention; and denials of the right to liberty of those seeking only to practice their faith, peacefully assemble, or to express themselves.
Secretary Pompeo said, “The United States joins with nations around the world in mourning Navid’s execution and condemning the Iranian regime. His killing was an unconscionable act.” He called on all other nations to promote accountability for Iran by imposing similar sanctions.
“The actions taken by the United States, “ said Secretary Pompeo, “expose Iran’s Revolutionary courts and their judges for what they really are: tools designed to enforce the Iranian regime’s brutal ideology and suppress dissent…The United States will continue to stand with the Iranian people and demand the regime treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
