US levies largest wave of Belarus sanctions to date

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US imposed its largest tranche of sanctions on Belarus to date in a coordinated action with its western allies on the anniversary of the eastern European country's 2020 elections.

US President Joe Biden said the Belarusian people had "sought to make their voices heard and shape their own future through" last year's poll, but the government instead "perpetrated election fraud, followed by a brutal campaign of repression to stifle dissent."

"From detaining thousands of peaceful protesters, to imprisoning more than 500 activists, civil society leaders, and journalists as political prisoners, to forcing the diversion of an international flight in an affront to global norms, the actions of the Lukashenka regime are an illegitimate effort to hold on to power at any price," Biden said in a statement, using an alternate spelling for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's government.

"It is the responsibility of all those who care about human rights, free and fair elections, and freedom of expression to stand against this oppression," he added.

Biden issued an executive order that allows for his administration to impose new sanctions on Lukashenko and his government, and the Treasury Department immediately blacklisted 27 Belarusian individuals and 17 entities tied to his government.

Those sanctioned "are involved in the continuing violent crackdown on peaceful protests; are connected to the May 23, 2021, Ryanair incident; or, profit from or sustain the Belarusian regime at the expense of the Belarusian people," the department said.

That includes individuals the US says serve as Lukashenko's "wallets," or people who provide him with funds that he uses to enrich himself personally and finance his government in exchange for preferential treatment.

Belarusian businessman Mikalai Varabei and his Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia-based energy companies are being designated for doing so via the country's energy sector, the Treasury Department said. Aliaksey Aleksin, a Tobacco mogul, and his businesses, as well as Nebojsa Karic, and his construction empire, are also being sanctioned.

The UK and Canada separately issued their own tranches of sanctions in coordination with the US, and the EU did so on June 24.