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bne December 2022 EuraEusraisaia I 75
the use of the Google Play app and virtual private networks (VPNs)”.
The protests, ignited in mid-September by the death of Mahsa Amini death in “morality” police custody after her deten- tion on a Tehran street for "inappropriate attire", have turned into a legitimacy crisis for Iran’s clerical establishment.
The European Union’s new sanctions target 29 individuals and three organisations. Among those sanctioned with travel bans and asset freezes were Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, four members of the police squad
that arrested Amini and high-ranking members of the IRGC, the elite force charged with protecting the Shi’ite clerical ruling system.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on November 14 that it was aware of 341 protesters who had been killed in the unrest, including 52 minors. It added that 39 members
of the security forces had also been killed, while as of November 13 more than 15,820 people had been arrested in protests in 140 cities and towns and 138 universities.
Iran has accused foes including the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia of fomenting “riots”.
In the Iranian court system, at least 20 people arrested for participating
in the unrest were currently facing charges punishable by death, Norway- based Iran Human Rights said, citing official reports. It warned that the authorities might be planning "hasty executions".
Last week, judiciary chief Gholamhos- sein Mohseni Ejei declared that "key perpetrators" of the protesters should be identified as soon as possible and given sentences that would deter others from taking part in the protests.
He warned that "rioters" could be charged with "moharebeh" (enmity against God), "efsad fil-arz" (corruption on Earth) and "baghy" (armed rebellion). All of these offences under Iranian Sharia-based law can carry the death penalty.
Uzbekistan said to be lobbying for lifting of sanctions on Russian billionaire Usmanov
bne IntelIiNews
Uzbekistan is lobbying the EU to lift sanctions on Uzbek-Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, with the issue having been put on the agenda of recent meetings between Uzbek and EU officials, the Financial Times has reported, citing unnamed sources.
As followed by bne IntelliNews, Usmanov previously argued that the sanctions imposed by the US, EU, UK and Switzerland following Russia’s late February invasion of Ukraine were based on “unjust and unsubstantiated accusations”.
The EU claims he provided “direct and indirect support to the government
of the Russian Federation through business empires, wealth and other resources”. Usmanov challenged the EU’s sanctions in court in July, claiming a threat of bankruptcy for his USM group structures, and the disruption to transactions and contracts.
According to the Financial Times, Uzbekistan is now also providing legal assistance to Usmanov for a potential court challenge against Brussels should the EU reject his demands to lift the sanctions.
Tashkent has argued that the sanctions restrict the billionaire’s ability to invest some of his fortune in Uzbekistan, with which he maintains close connections, according to the FT sources.
“I have not been involved in politics and I never received anything from the Russian state – not during the privatisation of state property in the 1990s, nor ever since,” Usmanov told Forbes in July. “Those who impose sanctions would do well to rely less on clichés. Contrary to popular stereotypes, there are people out there who have earned their fortunes through honest work and by using their own brain.”
In September, the EU dropped sanctions imposed on Usmanov’s sister Saodat Narzieva. A bne IntelliNews investigation into the case revealed that the sanctions were based on shares she was given in 2014 long before sanctions were imposed on her brother. They were shares that she only held for one year. Moreover, the accusation that she controlled bank accounts linked to her brother's companies was false.
Narzieva said in an opinion piece in bne IntelliNews that she was a simple, Tashkent-based gynaecologist and, while she admitted that she had benefited from the generosity of her billionaire brother, she said she had nothing to do with his business and did not control any banking accounts. An investigation by bne IntelliNews confirmed her claims.
Another sister of Usmanov, Gulbakhor Ismailova, was also sanctioned. The grounds given were that she was the legal owner of some of Usmanov’s assets, such as his $600mn yacht Dilbar, the FT reported. However, according to the bne IntelliNews investigation, the yacht was transferred
to Ismailova in around 2014, well before the emergence of the sanctions regime, as part of Usmanov’s efforts to share some of his wealth with
his family.
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