On Friday 6 November, the Council of the EU formally adopted sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and 14 other leading Belarusian figures, who were found “responsible for acts of repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, members of the opposition, and journalists following the presidential election, as well as for misconduct by the Central Election Commission during the election process”.
The group includes Lukashenko’s eldest son, Viktor, who is also his National Security Advisor and member of the Security Council, the Head of the Presidential Administration, Igor Sergeyenko, the President of the Constitutional Court, Pyotr Miklashevich, and the Deputy Minister of Information, Ihar Buzouski.
The former State Secretary of the Security Council, Andrei Raukou, is also subject to restrictive measures, as are the Chairman of the Committee for State Security (KGB) and former Chairman of the State Control Committee, Ivan Tertel, and the Head of the General Directorate for Law Enforcement and Prevention at the Ministry of the Interior, Raman Melnik.
Several members of the Investigation Committee, including its chairman, multiple vice-chairmen and a former vice-chairman, are also subject to sanctions, as are the head of the Operational and Analysis Centre, the commander of the ‘Alpha’ unit, and Lukashenko’s press officer.
With this decision, 59 people are being penalised for their responsibility in the fraud that occurred during the 9 August election and in the repression that followed and continues.
In addition, on 5 November, the independent expert mandated by 17 OSCE member countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Canada and the United States) in the framework of the Moscow mechanism published his report on alleged human rights violations related to the presidential election.
According to the report, “allegations that the presidential election was not transparent, free or fair have been confirmed”. Regarding allegations of major human rights violations, “they were found to be massive and systematic and proven beyond doubt”. In addition, media freedom and the safety of journalists are under massive attack, as are freedom of assembly and association and the right to liberty and security, the report adds.
See the legal acts related to the EU Council decision: https://bit.ly/32m5Mmz and the OSCE report: https://bit.ly/36pgudt (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)