Obama extends US sanctions against Belarusian officials

The sanctions have been extended for a year.

The relevant notice was signed by Barack Obama and transmitted to the US Congress.

The notice says that certain members of the Belarusian government pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and undermine Belarus's democratic processes or institutions. The document, in particular, mentions human rights abuses related to political repression, including detentions and disappearances, and public corruption, including by diverting or misusing Belarusian public assets, ITAR TASS reports.

Published in June 2006 by US President George Bush, the executive order has been extended annually. It blocked the property of certain Belarusian citizens in the United States.

The “blacklist” attached to the executive order includes 10 Belarusian officials, among them Lukashenka, the Security Council secretary, the ministers of justice and internal affairs, the KGB chief, the head of the Central Election Commission and the head of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company.