Switzerland introduces a new package of sanctions against Belarus. According toa communication from the Federal Department of Economic AffairsThe decision on penalties against 17 individuals and nine persons related to Belarus was made on December 17, they come into force at 18.00 on Monday, December 20.
Swiss sanctions apply to the Belavia airline, the Belarusian state-owned enterprise Tsentrkurort, Oskartur LLC, the Planeta hotel and the Minsk hotel, the special unit of the Belarusian border troops “Separate service of active events”, the companies Grodno Azot, Belorusneft and “Belshina”, as well as the Syrian base Cham Wings and the passport and visa service VIP Grub.
Among the defendants on the blacklist are the border guard management
Among the individuals who fell under the sanctions were the head of the Belarusian State Border Committee Anatoly Lappo, the head of the Grodno border group Konstantin Molostov, the head of the Polotsk border detachment Pavel Kharchenko, the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Glaz, the head of the Separate Event Service Igor Kryuchkov and others.
In August, the authorities announced economic sanctions against Minsk, implying restrictions on trade in dual-use technologies and oil products, as well as a ban on loans to the Belarusian authorities.
In early December, the European Union introduced the fifth sanctions of packages against the regime of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko for smuggling migrants through Belarus for the purpose of illegal transportation to the EU. The sanctions list includes 17 individuals and 11 legal entities transported by Belavia. The US, UK and Canada have supported the EU sanctions.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Migrant crisis – new sanctions
The Baltic states and the EU as a whole accuse Alexander Lukashenko of creating a crisis with migrants on the border of Belarus with the EU. On December 2, 2021, Brussels introduced the fifth package of sanctions measures. The list includes 17 individuals and 11 organizations. It includes Belavia, Tsentrkurort and Oskartur, as well as the Grodno Azot, Belorusneft and Belshina enterprises. About the sanctions packages, earlier demonstrations – in the DW photo gallery.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Signal to Lukashenka’s regime
Aiding the illegal transfer is one of the reasons for the sanctions against the Lukashenka regime. Others include human rights violations in Belarus. On December 2, restrictive measures were also expanded by the US, UK and Canada. 20 people have been added to the list of US sanctions, including Dmitry Lukashenko’s middle son, and 12 organizations: Slavkali, Agat, Belarusian Potash Company, Beltechexport and others.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
EU response to violence
The sanctions against Minsk were also a response to the falsification of the election results and the violent dispersal of peaceful protests. The UK and Canada were the first to introduce them in September 2020. London blacklisted eight people, including Alexander and Viktor Lukashenko, then Interior Minister Yuri Karaev, and Minsk OMON commander Dmitry Balaba. Ottawa – 11 people.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
In the EU sanctions list – the head of the Central Election Commission
In October 2020, the EU included 40 people on the sanctions list. Among them are the head of law enforcement agencies, in particular, the now ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yuri Karaev and the commander of the riot police in Minsk Dmitry Balaba, the head of the detention center at Akrestsin Street Ivan Sokolovsky. The entire composition of the Central Election Commission, including its head, Lydia Yermoshina, fell under the sanctions. For them, a ban on entry into the EU and a freeze on European assets.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Lukashenka on the EU blacklist
Alexander Luka YESshenko himself was on the sanctions list in November. Brussels holds him responsible for the brutal repression in the country. The second list of persons who fell under the sanctions included at that time Lukashenka’s national security adviser, his eldest son Viktor, press secretary Natalya Eismont, KGB head Ivan Tertel, Chairman of the Constitutional Court Petr Miklashevich and 10 other people.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
3rd package of the European Union
A month later, in December 2020, another 29 high-ranking officials fell under personal sanctions for political repression and aggressive propaganda, which, in particular, claims the Belarusian state television. Among them are the speaker of the upper house of parliament Natalya Kochanova, Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Sivak and Prosecutor General Andrei Shved, as well as the head of Belteleradiocompany Ivan Eismont.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Penalties against Belarusian enterprises
The list also includes seven enterprises and companies, including the 140th Repair Plant, which repairs tanks, the Agat plant, the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT), which produces wheelbases for weapons systems, Beltechexport, which sells military equipment to others. countries, the developer Dana Holdings and the IT-company “Synesis”, which provides the Belarusian authorities with a platform for video surveillance.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Air boycott after Ryanair incident
At the beginning of 2021, repressions in Belarus continued, but Brussels did not impose new sanctions. However, after the forced landing in May of a Ryanair plane and the arrest of blogger Roman Potasevich and his companion Sofia Sapieha, the EU was based on the flights used by air carriers over Belarus. And since June, the planes of Belavia and other state-owned companies of the Republic of Belarus have been flying over the EU and landing at its airport.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
MAZ and BelAZ in the penalty list
The interception of the plane was followed by a fourth package of EU sanctions. There are 78 more names in it: in addition to Lukashenko’s second son Dmitry and Viktor Lukashenko’s wife Lilia, these are security officials, military men, judges, university rectors, parliament members, as well as businessmen associated with Lukashenko – Mikhail Gutseriev, Alexey Oleksin, Sergei Teterin. The list also includes eight companies, including MAZ and BelAZ.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
EU sectoral sanctions
This package also includes sanctions against key sectors of the Belarusian economy. They prohibit the import of Belarusian oil products and potash fertilizers into the EU, the supply of raw materials to Belarus for the tobacco industry, equipment for intercepting telephone and Internet communications, as well as dual-use goods that are used for repression. Minsk also has limited access to European capital markets.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Ryanair’s joint response to interception
Together with the EU, the United States, Great Britain and Canada have adopted sanctions in response to the interception of the Ryanair aircraft and the violation of human rights in Belarus. Washington has blacklisted five organizations and 16 citizens of Belarus. In it, in particular, Natalya Eismont, Natalya Kochanova, Nikolai Karpenkov, Andrey Shved, Ivan Tertel. London contributed 11 people and two organizations. Ottawa – 17 individuals and five legal entities.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Large-scale sanctions from the United States
Back in April, the United States resumed the sanctions against Belarus, which had been suspended in 2015. 9 petrochemical enterprises were hit. And on the anniversary of the elections on August 9, restrictions were introduced against 23 individuals and 21 organizations. The black list, in particular, includes the NOC of Belarus, the Investigative Committee, Belaruskali, Belneftegaz. The White House sees the actions of the Lukashenka regime as a threat to the US national security.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
New UK and Canadian sanctions
And the UK and Canada in August 2021 will have sectoral sanctions similar to those adopted by the EU. Trade points of view are potash fertilizers, petroleum products, supply of goods to Belarus for production and dual-use technologies. The purchase of Belarusian securities and the provision of loans are prohibited. London also banned the maintenance of the aircraft fleet of Lukashenka and his entourage.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
Belarusian opposition “for” sanctions
The democratic forces of Belarus, led by ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, believe that economic and political pressure can force the authorities to change their behavior, sit down at the negotiating table with the opposition and hold new, fair presidential elections. The sanctions, in their opinion, are also aimed at ensuring that Lukashenka releases all political prisoners – now there are more than 800 of them in the country.
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Sanctions against Belarus: who is on the lists and what is banned?
When will sanctions be lifted from Belarus
The lifting of sanctions will become possible only when the Belarusian authorities fully adhere to the principles and rule of law and stop repressions, Brussels emphasizes. “The EU will continue to support a democratic, independent, sovereign, prosperous and stable Belarus.
Author: Yanina Moroz