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EU Sanctions Five Iranian Judges and Ashiyane Founder

The move signals a pivot to targeting state-linked cyber actors, raising fresh screening duties for European banks and crypto firms.

EU European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas delivers a joint statement with Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro (not pictured) on the Enhanced Partnership between the Philippines and the European Union, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center on July 24, 2026 in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. Ezra Acayan/Pool via REUTERS
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The EU continues to target Iranians involved in state repression. EPA

Overview

  • The EU Council on July 24, 2026 added five Revolutionary-court judges and Nima Salehi to its human-rights sanctions list and imposed asset freezes, travel bans and a ban on making funds available to those named.
  • The five judges served in regional Revolutionary courts that handed down death sentences, long prison terms, floggings or fines in politically motivated trials, including cases involving Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi.
  • Nima Salehi is listed as the founder of Ashiyane Digital Security, which the EU says carried out intensive cyber attacks, worked with Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) and cooperated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to assist the crackdown on opponents.
  • The designations require European financial institutions and regulated crypto firms to screen updated sanctions lists under anti-money-laundering rules and the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, increasing compliance and enforcement duties.
  • The move expands an EU human-rights sanctions regime that began in 2011, was intensified after the 2022 protests, and was renewed through April 13, 2027, bringing the total to 269 individuals and 53 entities targeted for rights abuses.