EU Warns Belarus It Is Considering Sanctions for Rights Violations
The European Union is considering sanctions against Belarus for human rights violations and unfair elections earlier this month, an Aug. 11 notice said. The Belarus government “deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence” to restrict freedom of expression and media, the notice said. The EU will conduct an “in-depth review” of relations with Belarus. “This may include, inter alia, taking measures against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results,” the EU said.
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The warning came amid calls from more than 20 members of the European Parliament to impose sanctions on Belarus. “We urge the EU leadership to apply targeted sanctions against all perpetrators of the rigged elections, violence and repressions,” the officials said Aug. 11 in a joint statement. The sanctions should target the “highest officials of Belarus,” their family members and “middle level officials of the repressive structures and the Central Election Commission.”