U.S. Makes History by Sanctioning a Foreign Court

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce Thursday afternoon sanctions against Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz and Adelabad Prison for their involvement in the trial, imprisonment and execution of Navid Afkari, said a U.S. official. Afkari was a wrestler arrested in 2018 for participating in protests. He was accused of murder, tortured and executed Sept. 12, according to a U.S. official.

“These so-called ‘revolutionary courts’ are not what anyone in the United States would recognize as a court. Their purpose is to maintain the regime’s stranglehold on power and put Iranians who seek freedom into prison—or even to order their execution,” said Elliott Abrams, US Special Representative for Iran. “They take orders for their verdicts from the ayatollahs and they make a mockery of justice.”

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The execution prompted swift international condemnation. It also drove officials at the State and Treasury Departments to complete a sanctioning process, which can often take months, in less than two weeks, according to an official.

This is a major departure from the previous Department of State policy that excluded judges and courts from sanctions.