The European Union renewed Tuesday its sanctions against Belarus, a close ally of Russia, saying it had failed to make sufficient progress on human rights. The decision was taken "because not all political prisoners have been released, no released prisoner has been rehabilitated and the respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles has not improved," an EU statement said.
At the same time, the 28-member bloc remains committed to its "policy of critical engagement with Belarus" which is intended to promote human rights and democracy, it said. After a review, some 232 people and 25 entities were left facing a freeze of their assets inside the EU and a travel ban. When sanctions were extended at the same time last year, for similar reasons, they applied to 243 people and 32 firms. Tuesday's statement gave no further details.
Belarus arrested scores of people after a massive opposition protest on the night of the December 2010 presidential election. Several candidates opposing re-elected President Alexander Lukashenko, as well as other opposition leaders, were later sentenced to long jail terms. Amnesty International recognises nine political prisoners in the country, including former presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich.
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