The scene of the October 11, 2020 protest in Belarus.
The United States expanded sanctions against Belarus on Wednesday (Dec. 23). The sanctions include four entities and 40 individuals to punish them for their role in Belarus’ disputed presidential election in August and the subsequent government crackdown on protesters.
Belarus, a country of 9.5 million people, is seen by Russia as a security buffer against NATO. Since Belarusian authorities announced that President Alexander Lukashenko had been overwhelmingly re-elected in the Aug. 9 election, the Belarusian public has been taking to the streets to protest, denouncing Lukashenko’s manipulation of the election results and demanding that he step down and call a new election. More than 30,000 people have been detained in Belarus since the protests began in August.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a Treasury statement, “The people of Belarus have continually sought to peacefully exercise their fundamental democratic rights, and the authorities have repeatedly responded with violent repression.”
The Treasury Department said the new sanctions are aimed at Belarus’ Central Election Commission. The commission administers voting that “includes numerous irregularities that make voting neither free nor fair.”
Also blacklisted were the Minsk Special Purpose Police Unit in the capital, the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee and KGB Alpha, which was involved in attacks on protesters.
The Finance Ministry also imposed sanctions on Henadz Arkadzievich Kazakevich, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Head of the National Police of Belarus.
The move freezes any U.S. assets of the blacklisted individuals and generally prohibits Americans from dealing with them.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the State Department has also identified 39 people responsible for undermining democracy in Belarus and has imposed visa restrictions on them. The identities of the 39 individuals have not been released.
“The United States continues to support international efforts to independently investigate election irregularities, human rights violations surrounding the elections, and subsequent repression in Belarus.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
Washington imposed sanctions on the Belarusian interior minister and seven other officials in October, echoing measures by the European Union, Britain and Canada.
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