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Canada sanctions Iranian police force, university as regime cracks down on protests

Oct 31, 2022 | 10:03 AM

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is adding Iran’s national police force and an Iranian international university to its sanctions list.

The addition of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and Al-Mustafa International University today comes as Tehran continues to crack down on weeks of dissent.

In a statement, Joly accused the police force of participating in the lethal suppression and arbitrary detention of Iranian protesters.

She also accused the Iranian regime of using the university, which has branches in several countries, to spread its ideology abroad and recruit foreign fighters.

Canada is also adding four individuals, including the police commander of Tehran, to its sanctions list, which now includes 93 people and 179 entities.

Iranian authorities say they will hold public trials for 1,000 people over the protests that have convulsed the country for weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2022.

— With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press