EU slaps personal sanctions on Lukashenko, another 14 Belarusian officials

<p> MINSK, Nov 6 - PrimePress. The European Union (EU) has imposed personal sanctions against Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, and another 14 Belarusian officials, reads a message posted in the EU Official Journal on Nov 6, 2020. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, on October2, the EU published in its official journal the Belarus sanctions list targeting 40 officials. The sanctions, in particular, target the following officials (the job posts indicated as of October 2 – editor’s note): Minister of Internal Affairs Yuri Karayev and his deputies Gennady Kazakevich, Alexander Barsukov, Sergey Khomenko and Yuri Nazarenko; deputy commander of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ internal troops Hazalbek Atabekov, SWAT commander Alexander Bykov, head of the Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Alexander Shepelev, Minsk City’s OMON riot police commander Dmitry Balaba, Minsk City Police Chief Ivan Kubrakov, former KGB chief Valery Vakulchik and his deputies, former Prosecutor General Alexander Konyuk, CEC chairwoman Lidia Yermoshina, as well as other employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the CEC (Central Election Commission). Back the EU would not impose personal sanctions against Lukashenko, as this would undermine Brussels’ demand for him to start a dialogue with the opposition through the OSCE and release political prisoners. </p> <p>   </p> <p> On Nov 6, 2020, the EU extended the sanctions list: the European Union has blacklisted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who, according to the EU, is responsible for brutal repression before and after the 2020 presidential elections, including the expulsion of key presidential candidates from the election race, arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment of peaceful demonstrators, intimidation and violence against journalists. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The extended sanctions list also includes Viktor Lukashenko, son and presidential aide for national security; Igor Sergeyenko, head of the presidential administration; Ivan Tertel, KGB chief; Roman Melnik, head of the main department for law enforcement and prevention of public security police at the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Ivan Noskevich, chairman of the Investigation Committee; and Alexei Volkov, chairman of the State Committee for Forensic Examinations; Deputy Chairman of the Investigation Committee Sergey Azemsha; Deputy Chairman of the Investigation Committee Andrei Smal; Head of the Operational and Analytical Centre under the President of Belarus Andrei Pavlyuchenko; Deputy Minister of Information Igor Buzovsky; Presidential Press Secretary Natalia Eismont; Commander Alpha Combat Group Sergey Zubkov; former State Secretary of the Security Council Andrei Ravkov; Chairman of the Constitutional Court Peter Miklashevich. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The listed persons are not allowed to enter the EU and their assets in the EU territory will be frozen. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The EU message explains that the presidential elections in Belarus held on August 9, 2020 did not meet international standards, were accompanied by repression of independent candidates and brutal suppression of peaceful protesters. The EU believes that Lukashenko does not have any democratic legitimacy. The EU expects that the Belarusian authorities will immediately refrain from any further repression and violence against the Belarusian people and release all detainees, including political prisoners. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, since the presidential elections on August 9, 2020, in which Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner for the sixth time with 80.1% of the vote, thousands-strong protest actions against the official results have been held in Belarus. In the course of the first days, August 9-11, the riot police and other law enforcers of Belarus violently dispersed peaceful demonstrations using special weapons, including stun grenades and rubber bullets. According to official data, in the first days alone more than 7,000 people were detained, hundreds of people were injured and three protesters died. There are reports of Belarusian policemen beating and torturing hundreds of detainees. End </p>

2020-11-07

Primepress