UK sanctions 4 individuals, 3 entities from Belarus

The United Kingdom on Friday sanctioned further seven individuals and entities on the fourth anniversary of the deeply flawed 2020 presidential elections in Belarus in coordinated action with international partners. Today's move took the total number of designated Belarussian individuals and entities to over 200, according to a statement from the Foreign Office. Following the designations, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "Four years on from the brutal scenes we witnessed in Belarus, Lukashenko's relentless crackdown on civil society has shown no signs of abating: over 40,000 citizens arrested on trumped up political charges, civil society and independent media trampled and a regime with no regard for democracy or human rights." "We stand with the people of Belarus and their pursuit of freedom and democracy and call on the regime to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally," Lammy affirmed. "The conduct of the election, which was widely condemned by the international community, sp arked widespread peaceful protests across the country. "These were met by a brutal campaign of repression and a purging of civil society, independent media and the democratic opposition at the hands of the Lukashenko regime, with political prisoners detained in penal colonies. "Commanding officers of 4 of these penal colonies, who have contributed to human rights violations and the repression of civil society, have been hit with UK sanctions today," he added. Belarus has also provided instrumental support for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine since it began in 2022. It has allowed the use of its territory and airspace to launch attacks and provided kit and logistical support, with three Belarusian entities in the defence and military industrial sector being added to the UK's sanction list, preventing them from doing business with UK companies. Alongside sanctions, the UK is announcing planned funding of GBP 2.5 million this financial year to supporting Belarusian human rights and civil society causes, i ncluding further funding to the International Accountability Platform Belarus - a coalition that collect, verify, and preserve evidence of gross human rights violations constituting crimes under international law allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities. Source : Kuwait News Agency