BRUSSELS — On Monday, the European Union imposed sanctions on 28 officials accused of human rights violations in Belarus and links to the ongoing crackdown on opponents of Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
In a move just before the anniversary of the disputed 2020 election that brought Lukashenko to power, the EU said it had frozen the assets of prosecutors and judges “who have issued politically motivated rulings.” They were also banned from traveling across the 27-nation bloc.
Other targets were senior officials in the Belarusian Interior Ministry department in charge of combating organized crime and corruption, as well as senior officials in some of the country’s prisons and alleged “regime propagandists” working in the media.
The EU said the ministerial department “is one of the main bodies responsible for political persecution in Belarus, including arbitrary and illegal arrests and ill-treatment, including torture, of activists and members of civil society.”
Last Thursday, two Belarusian journalists who worked for media outlets that the government has declared extremist were sentenced to prison in a closed-door trial, the the latest in a persistent crackdown on dissent and independent journalism.
The repression began as large protests broke out In response to the disputed presidential election on August 9, 2020 that gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The EU insists the survey was fraudulent.
More than 35,000 people have been arrested during the crackdown. Many prominent opposition figures have fled the country and others have been sentenced to long prison terms. Human rights group Viasna says there are currently around 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus.
The EU said in a statement that it “stands with the people of Belarus and unwaveringly supports the Belarusian people’s pursuit of a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus as part of a peaceful Europe.”
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