Belarusian opposition leaders praise Poland’s sanctions

May 29, BPN. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja and a member of her United Transitional Cabinet, Pavieł Łatuška, have praised Poland’s sanctions as a sign of solidarity and accountability. They have urged other countries to follow suit and hold the government of Alaksandr Łukašenka responsible for its crimes.

Poland imposed sanctions on 365 Belarusians linked to reprisals and human rights violations, including a harsh sentence for journalist Andrej Pačobut. The sanctions also targeted 20 entities and 16 individuals mainly associated with Russian capital.

The Polish interior ministry said the sanctions were aimed at people who promoted, supported or legitimized the regime’s policies, as well as those who tortured, intimidated or discriminated against the Polish minority and other Belarusians.

The measures include entry bans and asset freezes for all deputies of the Belarusian parliament, judges, prosecutors, propaganda figures, local officials, law-enforcement officers, athletes, cultural workers and others. The sanctions list has not been published yet.

The EU itself imposed wide scale sanctions on Belarus for its crackdown on dissent and its role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, some activists point out that the bloc’s latest round of sanctions was one year ago, and campaign for even more pressure.