3 yıl önce

EU extends sanctions on Belarus over alleged crackdown on protesters

EU sanctions include an asset freeze and bans on travelling in the 27-nation EU for 88 people, including politicians, state security personnel and business people, and asset freezes on seven organisations.

AFP

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko talks with the Russian president during their meeting in Sochi on on February 22, 2021.

The European Union has prolonged sanctions targeting dozens of Belarus officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, for a year over allegations of fraud in the country's presidential election last summer and the crackdown on peaceful protesters that followed.

The measures include an asset freeze and bans on travelling in the 27-nation EU for 88 people, including politicians, state security personnel and business people, and asset freezes on seven organisations. EU citizens and companies also are forbidden from providing them with funds.

The sanction also apply to Lukashenko’s son Viktor, who acts as his father's national security advisor, and are set to remain in force until at least Feb 28, 2022.

#Belarus: @EUCouncil 🇪🇺 prolongs until 28 February 2022 sanctions against people and entities responsible for violent repression

Read our press release 👉 https://t.co/W591weiCbp pic.twitter.com/zO4Thwn8k8
— EU Council Press (@EUCouncilPress) February 25, 2021

Crackdown on protesters

Protests rocked Belarus for months after official results from the August 9 presidential election gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office by a landslide. The opposition and some poll workers have said the election was rigged. The EU also rejected the results.

Police arrested thousands of people during the anti-government protests.

At a meeting on Monday, EU foreign ministers said they would consider adding more people to the list given “the continuing disrespect for fundamental freedoms and human rights” in Belarus, as well as the ongoing repression of people by Belarusian authorities.