EU unveils new sanctions against Belarus in response to presidential elections
The EU has introduced new sanctions against Belarus on March 27, in response to continued repression and the election of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko in January.
Lukashenko was inaugurated into his seventh consecutive term as President of Belarus on March 25. Several Belarusian human rights groups have decried the elections as undemocratic and denounced the regime for human rights violations.
In power since 1994, Lukashenko's rule has been marked by a harsh crackdown on political opposition, free media, and civil society.
Twenty-five individuals and seven entities have been sanctioned for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Belarus.
The sanctions also denounce the role of these individuals and entities in human rights violations, repression, and military support of Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Nine judges have been sanctioned for issuing politically motivated sentences to repress civil society and democratic opposition.
Belarus' Election Commission and its members have been sanctioned for their role in holding elections "conducted in a climate of repression and human rights violations," the European Council said in its press release.
The chair of Belarus's largest political party, Aleh Ramanau, has been sanctioned.
Tsybulka-Bel LLC, a Belarusian agricultural company, has been imposed with restrictive measures for coordinating with Belarusian authorities to deploy inmates as forced laborers.
Several companies and their leadership have been subject to restrictive measures for their active participation in the Belarusian military-industrial complex. This includes Precise Electro-Mechanics Plant and its director, Yuri Tchorny.
The Belarusian Election Commission claimed that Lukashenko "won" 86.82% of the vote on Jan. 26.
The other candidates in the election were regime-approved and little-known. Sergey Syrankov got 3.21% of the vote, and Oleg Gaidukevich won 2.02% of the votes.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
