LegalizeCouncil Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/776 of 14 April 2025 implementing Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Iran
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| Image omitted; see official source | Official Journal of the European Union | EN L series |
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| 2025/776 | 14.4.2025 |
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 of 12 April 2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Iran 1, and in particular Article 12(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
Whereas:
- (1) On 12 April 2011, the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 359/2011.
- (2) The Council conclusions of 12 December 2022 stressed that the Union strongly rejected Iran’s practice of arbitrary detention of foreign citizens, including dual nationals, and called upon Iran to end the distressing practice of detaining innocent foreign civilians with a view to making political gains. The Union reminded Iran of its international obligations under the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations and urged the Iranian authorities to abide by these obligations.
- (3) On 20 February 2023, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy issued a statement on behalf of the Union declaring that the increasing number of Union citizens currently detained by Iran on spurious grounds was of great concern. Many of those Union citizens continue to be held in degrading conditions with no chance of a fair trial. Furthermore, the Union called on Iran to strictly abide by its international obligations, in particular under the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a party. It stressed that the policy currently pursued by Iran, including the restrictions imposed on consular access to Member States’ nationals, the denial of consular protection and the right to a fair trial, still stands in direct violation of international law. The Union expects the Iranian authorities to facilitate the exercise of consular functions by the Member States concerned by allowing them to communicate and have regular access to their nationals, as required by international law, including the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which Iran is a party. Due to the acute risk to their nationals’ personal security, Member States had recommended to their nationals, in line with their respective national risk assessments, to avoid travelling to Iran, informing them that the Union and its Member States would continue to closely monitor the situation and would act as appropriate.
- (4) In that context, and in line with the Union’s commitment to address all issues of concern with Iran, including the human rights situation, seven persons and two entities should be included in the list of natural and legal persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 359/2011.
- (5) Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 14 April 2025.
For the Council
The President
K. KALLAS
ANNEX
The following persons and entities are added to the list of natural and legal persons, entities and bodies set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 359/2011:
Persons
| Name | Identifying information | Reasons | Date of listing | |
| ‘238. | HOWZAN Abbasali | Function: Judge of branch 36 of the Court of Appeal of Tehran Province Nationality: Iranian Gender: male | Abbasali Howzan is a judge of branch 36 of the Court of Appeal of Tehran Province. In this capacity, he upheld on appeal the convictions of numerous political opponents (including those connected to the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests), activists, women for not complying with Iranian hijab laws and people from religious minorities, in particular the Baha’i community. In several of those cases, convictions were based on forced confessions obtained under torture and were a result of procedures conducted in violation of fair trial guarantees. Therefore, Abbasali Howzan is responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025 |
| 239. | FARZADI Hedayatollah | Function: Head of Evin Prison POB: Basht, Iran Nationality: Iranian Gender: male | Hedayatollah Farzadi is the Head of EU-listed Evin Prison. He is directly responsible for severe violations of political prisoners’ human rights, in particular for restricting their communication and visitation rights and for arbitrarily ordering solitary confinement. He is also responsible for the deterioration of detention conditions of political prisoners. Furthermore, EU-listed Evin Prison is a detention centre where political prisoners and hostages have been held, and where severe human rights abuses, including torture, denied communication rights, and obstructed access to medical care, have repeatedly taken place over the past years. As a result, through his involvement in the administration of EU-listed Evin Prison, Hedayatollah Farzadi is himself responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran and is associated with an EU-listed entity responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025 |
| 240. | NEMATI Mehdi | Function: Head of the Fars Prisons Protection and Intelligence Department Nationality: Iranian Gender: male | Mehdi Nemati has been the Head of the Fars Prisons Protection and Intelligence Department since 2018. The Fars Prisons Protection and Intelligence Department is responsible for the administration of EU-listed Shiraz Central Prison, where human rights are systemically violated and where numerous opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been executed. Several hostages from European countries have been unlawfully detained in this prison, where their access to a fair trial has been denied and where they have experienced severe violations of their most basic rights. Furthermore, this prison is participating in the repression of ethnic and religious minorities in southern Iran (including Arabs, Kurds, Baluchs, semi-nomadic tribes and Baha’is) through almost systematic executions. The Shiraz Central Prison is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. Through his role in the administration of the EU-listed Shiraz Central Prison, which is involved in the violations of detainees’ human rights, Mehdi Nemati is associated with an entity responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025 |
| 241. | ZAREH Kamran | Function: Judge at the Shiraz Court of Appeal Nationality: Iranian Gender: male | Kamran Zareh is Judge at the Shiraz Court of Appeal. In his role, he has systematically handed down severe sentences to peaceful dissidents, thus implementing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s campaign of repression against political opponents. Furthermore, the Shiraz Court of Appeal has been implicated in numerous human rights violations, particularly concerning the prosecution of political dissidents and individuals from minority communities (in particular the Baha’i community). Through his involvement within this court, Kamran Zareh is therefore responsible for and associated with an entity responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025 |
| 242. | SADATI Sayyed Mahmood | Function: Judge at Shiraz Revolutionary Court Nationality: Iranian Gender: male | Sayyed Sadati is a Judge at EU-listed Shiraz Revolutionary Court. In his role, he is responsible for serious human rights violations, in particular forced confessions, violations of fair trial guarantees and execution of death sentences, against activists, political dissidents and individuals from minority communities (in particular the Baha’i community). Furthermore, he has systematically handed down severe sentences to peaceful dissidents, thus implementing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s campaign of repression against political opponents. Additionally, the EU-listed Shiraz Revolutionary Court is implicated in numerous human rights violations. Therefore, through his involvement within the Shiraz Revolutionary Court, Sayyed Sadati is responsible for and associated with an entity responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025 |
| 243. | SALEHI Ali | Function: Public Prosecutor of Tehran Nationality: Iranian Gender: male | Ali Salehi is the Public Prosecutor of Tehran. In his role, he participated in the prosecution of several women for refusing to comply with the mandatory hijab law, students and protesters. He also participated in the issuance of death sentences to prisoners and the implementation of those sentences as well as authorising the use of torture practices against prisoners. Therefore, Ali Salehi is responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025 |
| 244. | KHOSRAVANI Mohammad | Function: Special Prosecutor of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court DOB: 16.9.1980 POB: Shiraz, Iran Nationality: Iranian Gender: male National ID No: 2296246941 (Iran) Birth certificate No: 1565 Birth certificate serial No: 225889221 | Mohammad Khosravani is the Special Prosecutor of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court. In this capacity, he has been responsible for and implicated in numerous human rights violations. These cases concern political dissidents, members of minority groups and several other individuals. He has directly coerced and pressured detainees, violated defendants’ rights and overseen arbitrary arrests. Partly as a consequence of his actions, the Shiraz Revolutionary Court has gained a notoriety for unjust sentences and human rights violations. Mohammad Khosravani is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. | 14.4.2025’; |
Entities
| Name | Identifying information | Reasons | Date of listing | |
| ‘44. | Shiraz Central Prison (a.k.a. Adel Abad Prison) | Type of entity: Prison Place of registration: Shiraz, Fars province, Iran | Shiraz Central Prison, Adel Abad, located in Shiraz, Fars province, Iran, is a prison in which detainees’ human rights are systemically violated and where numerous opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been executed, including based on collective punishment. Several hostages from European countries have been unlawfully detained in this prison, where their access to a fair trial has been denied and where they have experienced severe violations of their most basic rights. Furthermore, this prison is participating in the repression of ethnic and religious minorities in southern Iran (including Arabs, Kurds, Baluchs, semi-nomadic tribes and Baha’is) through almost systematic executions. | 14.4.2025 |
| 45. | 1st branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz | Type of entity: Prison Place of registration: Shiraz, Fars province, Iran | The 1st branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, located in Fars province, Iran, has been implicated in numerous human rights violations, in particular concerning the unjust trials and executions of political dissidents and persecution of individuals from minority communities (in particular the Baha’i community). These actions underscore the court’s role in perpetuating systemic human rights violations, utilising the judiciary as a tool for political repression and suppression of political dissent and minority communities in Iran. | 14.4.2025’. |
ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/776/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)
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