UK and allies sanction human rights abusers

UK and allies have sanctioned human rights abusers 75 years after Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

UK, US and Canada lead coordinated action against human rights abusers and accessories to authoritarian governments around the world, 75 years after Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified
UK targets forced labour operations in Southeast Asia, and government-linked officials in Belarus, Haiti, Iran, and Syria complicit in repressing individual freedoms
these sanctions underline the UK’s continued commitment to deterring malign activity around the world

The UK, US and Canada are today announcing a sweeping package of sanctions targeting individuals linked to human rights abuses around the world, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December.

Today the UK is announcing 46 sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, in 2 categories.

The first set targets 9 individuals and 5 entities for their involvement in trafficking people in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, forcing them to work for online ‘scam farms’ which enable large-scale fraud. Victims are promised well-paid jobs but are subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The UN estimates at least 120,000 people in Myanmar alone are being forced to work for such schemes. The FCDO has helped a small number of British nationals return to the UK who had become victims.

The second is aimed at a number of individuals linked to the governments, judiciaries and prosecuting authorities of Belarus, Haiti, Iran, and Syria, for their involvement in the repression of citizens solely for exercising fundamental freedoms in those countries. This includes:

17 members of the Belarusian judiciary including judges, prosecutors and an investigator involved in politically-motivated cases against political activists, independent journalists and human rights defenders
5 individuals in the Iranian judiciary, security forces and Tehran public transport system for their involvement in imposing and enforcing the mandatory hijab law
8 individuals for complicity in atrocities against the Syrian people by Assad’s regime and
2 individuals in Haiti for their involvement in the 2018 La Saline attacks

The Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, said:

We will not tolerate criminals and repressive regimes trampling on the fundamental rights and freedoms of ordinary people around the world. I am clear that 75 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UK and our allies will continue to relentlessly pursue those who would deny people their freedom.

The Home Secretary James Cleverly said:

The UK is actively rooting out all facilitators of large-scale fraud, both nationally and internationally, to protect public welfare.Today’s announcement sends a clear warning: anyone attempting to gain from human rights abuses will be brought to justice.

Background

View the full UK Sanctions List.

US and Canada

More information on the US and Canadian designations will follow later today from the US Treasury and State Department and Global Affairs Canada.

Asset freeze

An asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. It also prevents funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world.

Travel ban

A travel ban means that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.

Further information on the individuals and entities sanctioned by the UK today

Forced labour in Southeast Asia

Fourteen individuals and entities have been sanctioned for their links to forced labour schemes in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The victims were trafficked to work for online scam farms (PDF, 10.1 MB).

Zhao Wei
Su Guiqin
Nat Rungtawankhiri
Abbas Eberahim
Zhijiang She
Colonel Saw Chit Thu
Colonel Saw Min Min Oo
ZhengHeng Group Co Ltd
Heng He Casino
K.B Hotel
Pacific Real Estate Management Co.
Hum Sovanny
Dong Lecheng
Golden Sun Sky Entertainment Co., Ltd.

Repression of civilians in Belarus, Haiti, Iran and Syria

Belarus:

The following 17 individuals have been sanctioned, including judges, prosecutors and an investigator involved in politically-motivated cases against political activists, independent journalists and human rights defenders, including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski:

Petr Aleksandrovich Orlov
Sergei Aleksandrovich Epikhov
Vyacheslav Ivanovich Tuleyko
Valentina Nikolaevna Zenkevich
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Bondarenko
Roman Ivanovich Bizyuk
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Karol
Sergey Fedorovich Khripach
Anton Vladimirovich Kolyago
Marina Sviatoslavovna Zapasnik
Mikhail Kavaliou
Valentina Gennadevna Kulik
Igor Viacheslavovich Liubovitski
Mikhail lvanovich Dola
Tatyana Alexandrovna Grakun
Sergei Sergeevich Girgel
Denis Alexandrovich Mikushev

Iran:

The following 5 individuals in the Iranian judiciary, security forces and Tehran Metro have been sanctioned for their involvement in imposing and enforcing the mandatory hijab law:

Hassan Shahrestani
Ali Salehi
Alireza Adyani
Ali Akbar Javidan
Masoud Dorosti

Syria:

The following 8 Syrian regime individuals have been sanctioned for their involvement in atrocities committed against the Syrian people. This includes government ministers and senior members of the armed forces involved in Military Field Courts:

Major Mohammad Kanjou
Major General Yazan Al-Homsi
Boutros al Hallaq
Louai Emad El-Din al-Munajjid
Firas Hassan Qaddour
Mohsen Abdul Karim Ali
Abdel Qader Jokhadar
Ahmed Mohammad Bustaji

Haiti:

The following 2 individuals in Haiti have been sanctioned for their involvement in the 2018 La Saline attacks, in which over 70 protestors were killed by armed criminal gangs with support from government officials: