Abnoush, Salar
"Salar Abnoush is the deputy commander of the Basij and has publicly described his command-and-control role over Basij forces during the November 2019 protests. The Basij have been linked to the killing of unarmed protestors on numerous occasions...
"Abnoush... [is] being designated pursuant to E.O. 13553 for being persons acting on behalf of the Government of Iran (including members of paramilitary organizations) who are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses against persons in Iran or Iranian citizens or residents, or the family members of the foregoing, on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran."1
"Salar Abnoush is the Deputy Commander of the Basij Resistance Force (EU-listed). The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary organisation operating under the IRGC with branches throughout Iran. It is charged with channelling popular support for the Iranian regime. The Basij is notorious for its recruitment of volunteers, many of them teenage children, and for human wave attacks during the Iran-Iraq war. After the contested 2009 Iranian presidential elections, the Basij brutally quashed protests and attacked student dormitories. The Basij has two missions: to provide defensive military training to protect the regime against foreign invasion, and to suppress domestic anti-regime activity through street violence and intimidation. The Basij is one of the forces ordered by the government to quell the September/ October 2022 protests. It injured and killed several protesters. Sources indicate that Basij members under Salar Abnoush’s command have committed serious human rights violations in Iran. He is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran."2
"Salar ABNOUSH is an involved person under the Iran (Sanctions) (Human Rights) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 because as Vice Commander of the Basij he is or has been responsible for, engaging in, providing support for, or promoting serious human rights violations in Iran including violations of the right to life and the right to freedom of expression through the violent repression of protests. In this role in the Basij he is also a member of an organisation that is involved in the commission of serious human rights violations."3
"Deputy Commander of the Basij Resistance Force."4
Sources:
1. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0969
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32022R2231&from=EN