Uladzimir Labkovich: It's a formal victory of Peftiev

Unfreezing oligarch's accounts may make the regime have an absolutely harmful illusion that its power is unlimited, a human rights activist thinks.

Uladzimir Labkovich, a member of the Council of Viasna human rights centre, comments for charter97.org on the information of the Lithuanian media that the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court unfroze accounts of Lukashenka's bag-man Vladimir Peftiev.

“It again demonstrates that the sanctions imposed by the European Union are of decorative nature. They fail to achieve all set political aims – pressing on the Belarusian authorities, release of political prisoners, etc. Unfortunately, it may make the regime have an absolutely harmful illusion that it has unlimited power and can avoid punishment by using similar legal formalities,” the human rights activist thinks.  

“I'd prefer not to interfere with the Lithuanian judicial system, but it seems to me that one should always obey not only the letter of the law, but also the spirit. Unfortunately, Belarus will regard this formal victory of Peftiev as a personal victory of Lukashenka,” Uladzimir Labkovich said.

We remind Lietuvos Rytas newspaper wrote on  August 28 that the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court delivered a judgement in favour of the pro-Lukashenka oligarch over his complaint against the EU sanctions. As a result, Lithuania unfroze Peftiev's bank accounts.

Peftiev, who is considered to be among the richest people in Belarus, asked to annul a decision of the Lithuanian MFA allowing to freeze his private accounts in European banks. The measure was a part of economic sanctions imposed by the EU Council last year in response to harassment of the opposition by the Belarusian authorities.