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Dominic Giannini

Calls for tougher punishment after Iran executions

Australian-Iranian leaders want government to go harder against the theocratic authoritarian regime. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Iranian Australians say they are at breaking point and fed up with government inaction as family members are executed, tortured and imprisoned back home.

Australian-Iranian leaders want the government to step in and go harder against the theocratic and authoritarian regime, which has begun executing protesters.

Prominent activist Tina Kordrostami said she has reached the point where she does not care if pro-regime agents took the next step to violence against her, in order to garner attention and force stronger action by the Albanese government against the regime.

"It's a sad point to get to but it's a coverage game," she said.

"I'm one human life but it's the future of a whole country, millions of people."

Ms Kordrostami said threats and online abuse increased as her prominence in the community grew when she nominated to run for NSW parliament as a Greens candidate.

She said there is no community aid or sufficiently strong mental health support in place to help deal with the trauma back home.

The activist is calling on the government to help facilitate time off with employers for people whose families are being tortured and executed.

Ms Kordrostami said about one in 10 community members she speaks to have had family members executed or detained and the numbers continue to grow as the brutal crackdown intensifies.

She wants the foreign minister to slap stronger sanctions on human rights abusers in Iran and put in place the same supports that were mobilised quickly for the Ukrainian community.

"People are angry and frustrated and realise there's no hope going to the government," she said.

Ms Kordrostami also called for an explanation as to why the little amount of help the government has put in place did not match what had been rolled out to other communities.

She said she had constantly been told it was "a complex situation" when she spoke to the government.

"We at least need justification as to why we're not getting the same support," she said.

Liberal senator Claire Chandler said the Australian government needed to take action against "a very dangerous regime which directly targets Australians and their family members in Iran".

"It's more than reasonable that the diaspora community expects Australia to take stronger action," she said.

The Tasmanian senator said she has heard from hundreds of members of the Iranian community who said they do not feel safe or listened to.

"The Iranian-Australian community has been telling the parliament consistently for the last eight months that they need more support and more action from the government," she said.

Senator Chandler also raised concerns about Iranians applying for Australian citizenship needing to attend the embassy and gain an Iranian police check.

She was aware of Iranians, particularly women, who needed to approach the regime back home in order to have their citizenship applications processed.

A home affairs department official said the need for a police check for some applications was dealt with on a case-by-case basis and he did not believe people were being forced into such circumstances.

The Australian government sanctioned 14 individuals and a further 14 Iranian entities in March over human rights violations.

The Magnitsky-style sanctions applied to the four morality police who were responsible for the arrest, detention and mistreatment of Mahsa Amini.

Also sanctioned were senior law enforcement officials, political and military figures including those within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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