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LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Britain said the human rights record in China had worsened last year and on Friday announced sanctions against 30 people worldwide, including officials from Russia, Iran and Myanmar for human rights abuses or corruption.
The move comes a day after France announced plans for new EU sanctions against Iran over its security crackdown over popular unrest there, as well as human rights violations for supplying Russia with drones ahead of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The British government said its sanctions were coordinated with international partners to mark International Anti-Corruption Day and Global Human Rights Day. They include individuals involved in activities including the torture of prisoners and the mobilization of troops to rape civilians.
“Our sanctions today go further to expose those behind heinous violations of our most basic rights,” Foreign Secretary James Chaturai said in a statement.
Among those sanctioned was Russian Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatulin for his role as commander of the 90th Tank Division, which has been involved in fighting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
The government said multiple allegations have been made against serving members of the 90th Tank Division, including the conviction of a senior lieutenant in Ukraine on charges of sexual abuse during the conflict.
Russia, which has said it is conducting “special military operations” in Ukraine to eliminate threats to its security, has denied committing war crimes or targeting civilians.
Britain also sanctioned 10 Iranian officials linked to Iran’s prison system. These include six people affiliated with revolutionary courts that are responsible for prosecuting dissidents with punishments up to and including the death penalty.
The nationwide protests that erupted after the September 16 death in police custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini have posed the biggest challenge to the Islamic Republic since its founding in 1979.
The British government sanctioned Ali Chehrmahli and Gholamreza Ziayi, the former directors of Tehran’s Evin prison, which it said was a notorious facility for the abuse of both Iranian and foreign detainees.
The Foreign Office said the sanctions against 11 countries in the seven sanctions regime were the most Britain had ever imposed in one package.
Britain also sanctioned individuals in the Myanmar military, who it said were involved in genocide, torture and rape.
Among those sanctioned by Britain is Myanmar’s Chief Office of Military and Security Affairs, which it says has been involved in torture since last year’s military coup, including rape and sexual violence.
Russia, Myanmar and Iran have previously dismissed allegations of atrocities as foreign interference based on lies. Their embassies in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China
Separately, Britain said in its annual review of global human rights and democracy that the human rights situation in China had deteriorated last year and that Uyghur Muslims faced what the foreign secretary called “horrendous persecution”.
In China, the government continues to pursue policies including the extra-judicial detention of Uyghur Muslims in political re-education camps in Xinjiang region’s expanding prison network, it said.
The report said China is using advanced technologies, including mass surveillance and “predictive policing” algorithms, to violate human rights in the region. Beijing vehemently denies any abuse.
Reporting by Andrew MacAskill and William James, Editing by Kylie McLellan, Mark Heinrich and Philippa Fletcher
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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