EU Slaps New Sanctions on Belarus, Iran
The European Union on Monday slapped fresh sanctions on Belarus and Iran in protest at human rights violations, diplomats said.
The sanctions, agreed at talks between the EU's 27 foreign ministers, target 16 people allegedly involved in rights abuse in Belarus and 29 in Iran with an assets freeze and travel ban.
Regarding Iran, the EU is increasingly concerned over what British Foreign Secretary William Hague described on joining the talks as Tehran's "appalling human rights record.”
The sanctions follow restrictive measures in March against 32 Iranians.
In Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has thrown hundreds of opponents behind bars, four of the 16 people blacklisted are believed to be involved in a court case against the head of a top human rights group, Ales Beliatsky, that has sparked global outrage and calls for his release.
The Vyasna (Spring) leader faces up to seven years if convicted in a case for large-scale tax evasion.
Beliatsky was detained on August 4 after Belarus authorities received information from countries such as Lithuania and Poland about bank accounts held by the rights leader abroad.
The latest EU sanctions were in June when foreign ministers blacklisted three companies and four people close to Lukashenko, bringing the number of those targeted by an assets freeze and travel ban to almost 200.
Source: Agence France Presse
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