EU imposes new sanctions against Belarus

The EU is imposing sanctions against people responsible for oppression of the Belarusian democratic opposition and against companies with links to the Belarusian regime. The EU is also introducing increased export restrictions on goods and technology that can be used to strengthen Belarus’s war capacity.

“The Swedish Government condemns the restrictions on democracy and human rights that we continue to see in Belarus. With these new measures, Sweden and the EU are demonstrating that we stand on the side of the Belarusian people and support the country’s democratic forces. It’s important that we continue to put pressure on Belarus in light of the oppression in the country and its open support for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström.

The 2020 presidential election was held under undemocratic circumstances and followed by widespread popular protests. The EU does not recognise the election since it was considered to be neither free nor fair and therefore failed to meet international requirements.

After the 2020 election, repression in Belarus has continued to worsen. The number of political prisoners in the country has increased dramatically, and arbitrary detentions and politically motivated trials against human rights defenders and the democratic opposition have also increased.