The European Union announced on Monday that it would extend for a year the sanctions imposed on Belarus in connection with the repression against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko and Minsk’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The sanctions are extended until February 28, 2024, the European Council, representing the 27 EU member states, said on Monday.

Earlier Monday, prosecutors requested a 19-year prison sentence for the exiled Belarusian opposition leader. Svetlana Tsykhanovskaya has been on trial in absentia in the former Soviet republic since January.

Since August 2020, the EU has imposed several sets of sanctions on officials it considers responsible for crackdowns on the opposition and human rights violations in Belarus.

The Belarusian president himself and 194 people close to the regime are subject to travel bans and a freeze on any resources they have in European jurisdiction.

Sanctions are also imposed on 34 legal entities, and they are prohibited from all European funding.

Belarus continues to be subject to European targeted economic sanctions, in particular restrictions on the financial sector, trade, so-called dual-use goods, telecommunications, energy and transport.

Source: RES-IPE