4 Belarusian companies removed from black list by EU back in July

It emerged that two more Belarusian officials and four companies have been stricken off the black list of the EU in July.

According to reports of the official journal of the EU, on July 13 the Council of the European Union passes a resolution to lift sanctions on Leanid Kozik, who was the head of the pro-governmental Federation of the Trade Unions of Belarus at the moment when he was put on the list, and Viktar Skurat – the head of Minsk city directorate of the Department of Guard Service under the Interior Affairs Ministry, BelaPAN informs.

Besides, by the decision of July 13 the Council of the EU lifted sanctions from 4 Belarusian companies: Askargoterminal, Variant JLLC, Triple-dekor JLLC and SZAO Altersolutions.

This information became known only after the decision of the Council of the EU as of July 31 to lift sanctions from 24 Belarusian officials was published.

Thus, according to the updated information, at the moment there are 175 persons and 14 Belarusians companies left on the black list of the European Union.

We remind that the initial sanctions list of the EU included 4 officials, who, according to the EU, had been involved in abductions of politicians in Belarus in 1999 – 2000: Uladzimir Navumau (the former Interior Affairs Minister), Viktar Shejman (the former head of Lukashenka’s administration), Yury Sivakou (was in the position of the Interior Affairs Ministry in the period when the politicians went missing), and Dzmitry Paulichenka (the commander of the special forces brigade of the interior troops of the Interior Affairs Ministry).

In December 2004, after the parliamentary elections and referendum, the list was extended: the chairperson of the Central Elections Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna and the commander of the Special Task Police Regiment Yury Padabed were added.

In April 2006 the list reached 37 persons, who were responsible for human rights violations during the presidential campaign, according to the EU. Alyaksandr Lukashenka was entered into the list then.

The list was expanded in October 2006, and in autumn 2008 the sanctions against Lukashenka and 35 more officials were suspended.

After the brutal crackdown on the rally in Minsk during the latest presidential election on December 19, 2010 and the crackdown against opposition which followed, the EU resumed operation of the sanctions against Belarus.