Belarus has seen a crackdown on protests, leading to the imprisonment of more than 1,400 political opponents since President Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election in 2020.
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The European Union (EU) on Monday 5 August strengthened its sanctions against Belarus, adding the names of 28 personalities to a list of individuals banned from entering the EU due to their involvement “in internal repression and human rights violations” in this country. This is a vast blacklist established from August 2020, after the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. The latter and members of his family are among those sanctioned.
Following the new additions, these sanctions – namely an asset freeze and a travel ban from the EU – now concern 261 individuals and 37 entities, the Council of the European Union said in a statement.
Since Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election four years ago, Belarus has seen a wave of crackdowns on protests, leading to more than 1,400 political opponents being jailed, while thousands more have fled the country, according to the rights group Viasna. Further EU sanctions were also imposed after Russia began its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
