The European Council has today (Friday 2nd October) imposed restrictive measures against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, as well as for misconduct of the electoral process. At present the former pPresident Alexander Lukashenko is not included in the list.
Restrictive measures include a travel ban and an asset freeze. The travel ban impedes the listed people from entering or transiting through EU territories, while the asset freeze is used against the funds or economic resources of the listed persons. In addition, EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to those listed.
The decision to impose sanctions follows the European Council conclusions of 1 October 2020, in which EU leaders once more condemned the unacceptable violence by Belarusian authorities against peaceful protesters, as well as intimidation, arbitrary arrests and detentions following the presidential elections, the results of which the EU does not recognise.
In its conclusions, the European Council fully supported the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their President through new free and fair elections, without external interference, and called on the Belarusian authorities to end violence and repression, release all detainees and political prisoners, respect media freedom and civil society, and start an inclusive national dialogue.
