EU adds 28 more Belarusian citizens to sanctions list

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – The EU has decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 28 Belarusian citizens for their role in the "ongoing internal repression and human rights violations” in Belarus, the Council of the EU said in a statement on Monday.

Restrictive measures were imposed on two deputy heads of the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Interior Ministry, the statement said.

The Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption is “one of the main bodies responsible for political persecution in Belarus, including arbitrary and unlawful arrests and ill-treatment, including torture, of activists and members of civil society,” it added.

The current listings target several members of the judiciary, including prosecutors and judges who handed down “politically motivated sentences,” including against citizens who protested the fraudulent presidential elections of 2020, or who simply voiced their opinions against the Lukashenka regime,” the statement said.

The measures were also imposed on the leaders of various correctional institutions, it added.

“Lastly, a group of long-time supporters of Lukashenko, who benefitted from the regime are also targeted,” including high-profile figures from media and communication sectors in the country, according to the statement.

“Altogether, EU restrictive measures against Belarus now apply to 261 individuals and 37 entities,” whose assets were frozen and who are banned from “entering or transiting EU funds,” it said.

These sanctions are announced ahead of the fourth anniversary of the 2020 presidential election.

Lukashenko, who had ruled Belarus for 26 years at the time, officially won the election in 2020, though opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya claimed she won the majority of votes.

The EU did not recognize the results, describing the election as “fraudulent.”