(CN) - The European Union said Monday it had extended sanctions against Iran for another year in response to "serious human rights violations," months after lifting other sanctions following the deal to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions.
EU lawmakers first sanctioned Iran over its human rights abuses in 2011, and have renewed them every year since. The sanctions include asset freezes and visa bans on 82 individuals and one entity believed responsible for the abuses, as well as a ban on exports of equipment that might be used for internal repression and equipment for monitoring telecommunications to Iran.
People on the EU's sanction list include present and former law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and lawmakers in Iran. The litany of human rights abuses include targeting political protesters, extreme sentences for minor drug offenses, prisoner abuse and torture and a dramatic rise in the number of executions - nearly 700 in the first six months of 2015 alone, according to Amnesty International.
The Council of the European Union said the current sanctions will run through April 13, 2017.
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