On 5 August, the European Union formally decided to impose restrictive measures on a further 28 people because of their role in the ongoing internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus.
The regulation was published on 5 August in the Official Journal of the EU (https://aeur.eu/f/d7n ).
The decision was validated by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) on 24 July and adopted by the Council of the EU (by written procedure) on 26 July.
The sanctions target, among others, the heads of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs’ Main Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK): its director (Andrei Ananenko) and his deputies (Mikhail Bedunkevich and Zmitser or Dimitri Kovach).
Among those on the EU blacklist are members of the judiciary.
A number of communication supporters of the Lukashenko regime are targeted by the sanctions: Iryna Akulovich, Director-General of the State news agency, the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA), Mikita Rachylouski, host of the ‘Senate’ television programme on the STV channel (CTB), and Dzmitry Zhuk, former head of Alexander Lukashenko’s press service and long-time Director-General of BelTA.
The restrictive measures taken by the EU against Belarus now apply to 261 persons and 37 entities (see EUROPE 13443/2).
The designated persons have their assets frozen and EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds available to them. Individuals are also subject to a travel ban, preventing them from entering or transiting through EU territory. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)