EU slaps Captagon sanctions on relatives of Syria’s Assad – Al-Monitor

PARIS The council of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg imposed on Monday sanctions on 25 individuals and eight entitiesin Syria it holds responsible for theproduction and trafficking of narcotics,notablyCaptagon.

The individuals sanctioned include Wasim Badi al-Assad, Samer Kamal al-Assad, Mudar Rifaat al-Assad, all cousins of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Others sanctioned include Lebanese nationals, arms smuggler Nouh Zaitara, and Hassan Dekko known as the king of Captagon.

The entities included in the category of supporting state oppression include for instance theal-Areen Foundation, directed by First Lady Asma al-Assad. This alleged charity group is accused of being closely affiliated with Syrian militias and supporting the goals of the government. Private security companiesoperating in Syria, such as Al-Jabal Security and Protection, Castle for Security and Protection and Aman for Protection and Security were also sanctioned for their roles in oppressing the Syrian people. According to the EU, these entities also act asshell companies for pro-government militias.

Finally, the Russian engineering company Stroytransgaz, currently controlling Syrias largest phosphate mines, is accused of benefitting from and supporting the Syrian government.

Any assets in EU territories belonging to the individuals and entities that appear on the new sanctions list have been frozen. The individuals on the list are banned from entering EU countries. Also, EU individuals and companies are prohibited from doing business with these parties.

While most of the individuals and entities on the new EU list were sanctioned for their involvement in alleged large-scale drug trafficking involving the government of President Bashar al-Assad, the list also includes two more sanctions categories. The second targets those responsible for oppressing the Syrian population, and the third relates to economic deals with Russia that are harmful to the Syrian people.

Mondays decision by the EU brings the total number of people and entities subject to sanctions in view of the situation in Syria to 322 persons, targeted by both an assets freeze and by an EU travel ban, and81 entitiessubject to an asset freeze.

In parallel to the decision sanctioning Syrian individuals and entities, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union also adopted a new wave of restrictive measures Monday against eightindividuals and one entityresponsible for serious human rights violations in Iran. With this new wave of sanctions, the EU list on Iran includes restrictions against 211 individuals and 35 entities.

On Monday, the USTreasury sanctioned four other senior officials of the Law Enforcement Forces of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), responsible for the brutal suppression of the protests in the country. On the same day, the United Kingdom also sanctioned Iranian entities and individuals over breaches of human rights. A statement issued by the British Foreign Ministry said its new package of sanctions targeted "four IRGCcommanders, under whose leadership IRGC forces have opened fire on unarmed protestors resulting in numerous deaths, including of children, and have arbitrarily detained and tortured protestors."

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EU slaps Captagon sanctions on relatives of Syria's Assad - Al-Monitor