On the second anniversary of the fraudulent Presidential election
in Belarus, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said:
Over the last two years, Lukashenko has led a campaign of
repression against his own people. There are now almost
1,300 political prisoners in Belarus. The authorities have
tried to silence independent media and civil society.
We support the democratic aspirations and human rights of the
people of Belarus. We urge the authorities to abide by
international law, release all political prisoners immediately
and unconditionally, and permit those in exile to return home
without fear of arrest or repression. We also condemn
Lukashenko’s support for, and complicity in, Russia’s illegal
invasion of Ukraine. We will hold Belarusian authorities
accountable for their actions.
This includes through sanctions. Since Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine, we have designated over 50 Belarusian individuals and
organisations who are aiding Russia’s reckless aggression towards
Ukraine. Furthermore, the legislation we laid in Parliament on 4
July extends recent Russia sanctions to Belarus by introducing
new financial, trade and transport measures. These are in
addition to the 117 designations we had already made in response
to the fraudulent election and subsequent human rights
violations.
There must be free and fair elections; the people of Belarus
should be able to enjoy the democratic right to decide their
future.
