Brussels, 10/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 10 May, in a new decision on the case of the Belarus journalist, Aliaksei Mikhalchanka, the General Court of the EU ruled that the journalist should never have been subject to sanctions.
In September 2014 (see EUROPE 11161), the judges at the General Court ruled that Mr Mikhalchanka should not have been placed by the Council of the EU on the list of people subject to sanctions (EU entry ban and freezing of funds). The Council made its decision because the interested party was a "highly placed and influential" journalist at the public television station Obshchenatsional'noe Televidenie (ONT) and therefore, owing to his position, contributed to state propaganda, which served to justify the repression of political opponents and civil society.
In this new decision (C-693/13), the judges once again found in favour of the interested party's appeal and subsequently quashed the restrictive measures extended by the Council against him for the period from 31 October 2013 to 31 October 2014. The Court considered that the reasons given by the Council remained the same as in the previous case. With regard to these two decisions, Mr Mikhalchanka should therefore never have been subject to restrictive measures by the EU. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)