Britain imposes fresh sanctions on Belarus over human rights violations

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain announced a new package of sanctions against Belarus on Friday, saying four individuals and three entities had been targeted over human rights violations and the ongoing facilitation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The British government said the coordinated action with international partners marked the fourth anniversary of the "deeply flawed" 2020 presidential elections in Belarus.

Most independent observers believe President Alexander Lukashenko lost that election. He hung on to power by imprisoning thousands to crush months of street protests with the help of his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Commanding officers of four Belarusian penal colonies in which political prisoners have been detained were among those sanctioned on Friday.

"Four years on from the brutal scenes we witnessed in Belarus, Lukashenko’s relentless crackdown on civil society has shown no signs of abating," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

"We stand with the people of Belarus and their pursuit of freedom and democracy and call on the regime to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.”

The three entities sanctioned included two machine tool manufacturers who have exported goods to Russia for use in the Russian military industrial sector, and one business affiliated with the Belarusian government which has done business in the defence sector.

Britain also announced 2.5 million pounds ($3 million) of funding to support Belarusian human rights and civil society causes.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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