Australia targets Myanmar and Iran with economic sanctions

Economist Sean Turnell, an adviser to Myanmar’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was detained by the military in Myanmar (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

Australia has announced targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against “individuals responsible for egregious human rights abuses” in Myanmar two years after a military junta seized power in the south-east Asian country.

Australia also imposed additional sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities over “abhorrent abuses of human rights”, a government statement said.