The Council today decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 28 individuals for their role in the ongoing internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus. Restrictive measures were imposed on two deputy heads of the Main Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (HUBAZiK) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. HUBAZiK is one of the main bodies responsible for political persecution in Belarus, including arbitrary and unlawful arrests and ill-treatment, including torture, of activists and members of civil society. Today’s listings also include various members of the judiciary, namely prosecutors and numerous judges who have issued politically motivated sentences, including against citizens who protested the fraudulent presidential elections of 2020, or who simply voiced their opinions against the Lukashenka regime. Furthermore, restrictive measures are also imposed on the heads of various correctional institutions (prisons and a pre-trial detention centre). Lastly, a group of long-time supporters of Lukashenka, who benefitted from the regime are also targeted. These include the director-general of the biggest State news agency, Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA), Iryna Akulovich; the host of the “Senate” television programme on the STV (СТВ) channel and chairman of the Youth Council at the National Assembly of Belarus, Mikita Rachylouski; and the previous head of Lukashenka’s press service and a long-time director general of BelTA, Dzmitry Zhuk. These regime propagandists willingly provided the Belarusian public with false information about repression perpetrated by the State authorities, spread disinformation produced by both Belarusian and Russian authorities and promoted hatred towards democratic opposition and civil society. Altogether, EU restrictive measures against Belarus now apply to 261 individuals and 37 entities. Those designated today are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them. Natural persons are additionally subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territories. These sanctions are adopted ahead of the fourth anniversary of the fraudulent presidential elections of August 2020. In its conclusions dated 19 February 2024, the Council expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus, and strongly condemned the continuing persecution and intimidation campaigns against all segments of Belarusian society by the Belarusian regime. It deplored that political prisoners remain incarcerated in appalling conditions, exposed to torture and ill-treatment, without access to essential health services, and that many of these prisoners have been kept for long periods of time without contact with their lawyers and relatives. The EU urges the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, and abolish the death penalty. The Council also strongly condemned the unprecedented level of repression, and restrictions on political participation ahead of the parliamentary and local elections that took place on 25 February 2024. On 26 February 2024, the High Representative issued a statement in the aftermath of parliamentary and local elections, in which he condemned the unprecedented level of repression, human rights violations, restrictions on political participation and on access to independent media. He underlined that the parliamentary and local officials elected in Belarus lacked democratic legitimacy since the conditions for free and fair elections had not been met. The EU stands with the people of Belarus and unwaveringly supports the Belarusian people’s quest for a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus as part of a peaceful Europe. The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. BackgroundSince August 2020, the EU has imposed several successive rounds of individual and sectoral sanctions, against those responsible for internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus, and in the context of Belarus’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. With these measures, the EU is signalling to the political and economic actors responsible that their actions and support for the regime and to Russia come at a cost. | 
