The Council of the European Union has imposed restrictive measures on 28 additional individuals in Belarus for their involvement in ongoing internal repression and human rights violations, according to the Council’s press release, published on 5 August. This decision comes ahead of the fourth anniversary of the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020.

Since August 2020, the EU has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against those linked to internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus, run by dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenka, and its involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to the Council of the EU, these measures signal to political and economic actors that supporting the regime and Russia has significant consequences.

The new sanctions target a range of individuals, including two deputy heads of the Belarusian Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (HUBAZiK) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The press release says HUBAZiK as one of the main bodies responsible for political persecution in Belarus, including arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment of activists and civil society members.

Various members of the judiciary are also included in the new listings, comprising prosecutors and judges who have issued politically motivated sentences against citizens who protested the 2020 elections or voiced opinions against the Lukashenka regime. Additionally, heads of various correctional institutions, including prisons and a pre-trial detention center, have been sanctioned.

The EU has also targeted long-time supporters of Lukashenka who have benefited from the regime. These include propagandists, such as Iryna Akulovich, director-general of the state news agency BelTA; Mikita Rachyloǔski, host of the “Senate” television program, and chairman of the Youth Council at the National Assembly of Belarus; and Dzmitry Zhuk, previous head of Lukashenka’s press service and former director general of BelTA.

With these additions, EU restrictive measures against Belarus now apply to 261 individuals and 37 entities. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans for natural persons, prohibiting them from entering or transiting through EU territories.

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