A few hours after the European leaders reached political agreement (see EUROPE 12572/2), the EU adopted on Friday 2 October, by written procedure, sanctions against 40 persons identified as responsible for the repression and intimidation of peaceful demonstrators, opposition members, and journalists in the aftermath of the 9 August presidential election in Belarus, as well as for misconduct during the electoral process.
The Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, has escaped the measures for the moment, but that’s not the case for 34 other men and 6 women.
Among them are the Minister of the Interior, Yuri Karaeu, and four Deputy Ministers of the Interior. The same applies to the Head of the Department of Safety and Security, the Deputy Commander of the Internal Forces of the Ministry of the Interior, and the Commander of the Special Rapid Reaction Unit. The former Chair of the Committee for State Security, as well as four Vice-Chairs of that committee and the former State Prosecutor, are subject to measures that include a travel ban and an assets freeze. The Chair of the Central Election Commission, its Vice-Chair, the Secretary of the Commission, and nine of its members are also involved.
These individuals are being sanctioned under the EU Council Regulation of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures against President Lukashenko and certain Belarusian officials, which until now had applied to four individuals linked to the unsolved disappearances of two opposition members, a businessman and a journalist, in 1999 and 2000. These sanctions are in force until 28 February 2021.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, welcomed the adoption of the measures, hoping that they will encourage the Belarusian leadership “to refrain from further violence, free all the unlawfully detained people, launch a thorough investigation into all alleged violations and abuses, and engage in a genuine and inclusive dialogue with the opposition” in order to find a peaceful solution to the current crisis.
“The list of persons targeted will be under constant review and the EU is ready to impose additional restrictive measures if the situation does not improve”, he warned.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced at the end of the European Council on 2 October that European leaders would continue to monitor the situation closely. Explaining that the EU is in favour of an inclusive dialogue, Mr Michel said he hopes that the OSCE will be able to prepare and organise a dialogue to improve the situation.
See the legal act related to the decision: https://bit.ly/3iqpAKE (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)