2024-08-06 05:02:03
“With the new sanctions against the Belarusian dictator’s regime for persecuting and imprisoning the opposition, for human rights violations, we clearly repeat that systematic violations of human rights and the erosion of democratic principles will not be tolerated,” Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis was quoted as saying in the report.
As reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), 28 persons have been added to the list of sanctions. Among them: representatives of the judiciary, prison officials and supporters of the repressive regime.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 261 persons and 37 entities are currently subject to EU restrictive measures in Belarus.
The EU has blacklisted 28 Belarusian officials and propagandists
On Monday, the European Union (EU) added 28 Belarusian officials and propagandists to the list of sanctions for repression against opponents of the country’s ruling Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
Since 2020, when the Belarusian authorities started a crackdown on those who protested against A. Lukashenka’s rule, the 27-nation bloc has repeatedly imposed sanctions on Belarus. The EU also imposed sanctions on Belarus for its role in the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which was also launched from the territory of Belarus.
The latest measures bring the number of people under sanctions in the former Soviet country to 261. The list already includes Lukashenko and his family members.
Among those whose assets were frozen and banned from entering the EU on Thursday were the head of the state-run news agency BelTA, Irina Akulovich, and prominent TV presenter Nikita Rachilovsky. “These propagandists of the regime willingly provide the Belarusian public with false information about the repressions carried out by the authorities,” the EU said in a statement.
The blacklist includes two commanders of a unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, “one of the main institutions responsible for political persecution.” Sanctions are also intended for judges, prosecutors and prison officials who participate in repression against the opposition.
A. Lukashenka, Russia’s closest ally, took a brutal crackdown in 2020. in August, when he announced that he had won the election, there were protests in the country. According to the human rights group Viasna, there are more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, and thousands more have fled the country. A. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for three decades.
2024-08-06 05:02:03