The European Union has sanctioned 28 judges, journalists and security personnel in Belarus.
According to an EU statement, they are accused of ongoing internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus.
The sanctions list includes Irina Akulovich, director general of the BelTA state news agency; Nikita Rachilovsky, host of the Senate television programme on the STV channel and chairman of the Youth Council of the National Assembly of Belarus; and Dmitry Zhuk, editor-in-chief of the “Belarus Today” publishing house.
The sanctioned persons include “two deputy heads of the Main Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (HUBAZiK)”, as well as “several members of the judiciary, including prosecutors and several judges”.
The EU sanctions list against Belarus currently includes 261 individuals and 37 organisations. Their assets will be frozen and they will be banned from entering or transiting EU territory.