On 3 June 2022, the European Council decided to impose further restrictive measures on an additional 12 individuals and eight entities for their role in the ongoing internal repression and human rights abuses in Belarus. These measures are in addition to those adopted in the context of Belarus’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine and constitute the sixth round of sanctions against the Lukashenko regime linked to the domestic situation in Belarus.

The measures were introduced in the form of amending regulations to the existing EU Regulation 765/2006, namely EU Regulation 876/2022 and EU Regulation 877/2022.

The measures target prominent individuals responsible for continued human rights violation or seriously undermining democracy and the rule of law in Belarus. The listed individuals are responsible for the repression of civil society and the democratic opposition, or benefit from and support the Lukashenko regime. The new listings include high ranking state officials, businessmen and their family, members of the judicial branch, and prominent propagandists, responsible for spreading disinformation and calling for violence.

The European Council’s press release can be found here.

EU Regulation 876/2022 can be found here.

EU Regulation 877/2022 can be found here.