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The European Council approved sanctions against these four individuals and two entities under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime for their responsibility in “serious” human rights violations worldwide.
According to the European Union’s statement, the two Syrian officials included in the sanctions are Defense Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Chief of Staff Abdel Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim.
The statement clarified that Abbas and Ibrahim were sanctioned due to their responsibility for actions committed by the Syrian regime, including systematic and widespread torture, rape, sexual violence, and gender-based violence against civilians.
The sanctions also targeted Ri Chang Dae, Minister of State Security of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), responsible for numerous acts of sexual violence and gender-based violence perpetrated by officials in his ministry, particularly against women and girls who oppose the regime or are detained in North Korean detention centers and prisons.
Additionally, Yevgeny Sobolev, head of the so-called “prison service” appointed by Russia in the Kherson region of Ukraine, was also sanctioned. A broad and systematic pattern of human rights violations has been documented in detention facilities under Russian control in areas such as Kherson, including torture, cruel or inhuman punishment, and sexual and gender-based violence.
Sanctions were also imposed on two entities: “Kokorat San Ras,” a Haitian gang operating primarily in the Artibonite area in the northwest of the country, known for using violence against women as a common weapon, and the MSS Detention Center in Onsong County—a detention facility in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, where torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment are entrenched practices.
The sanctions include asset freezes and a ban on providing funds or economic resources to the sanctioned individuals or on their behalf, directly or indirectly, as well as a travel ban to the European Union.
With this, Europe has imposed sanctions on 117 individuals and 33 entities worldwide under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
Same Justice organization welcomed the EU’s sanctions list, considering the pursuit of war criminals and their inclusion on sanctions lists an important means of holding human rights violators accountable, leading to fair trials that contribute to international peace and stability. The organization also called for the prosecution of all officials accused of committing crimes against humanity to achieve justice for the victims and their families.
