Written question asked by Baroness Crawley (Labour) on Thursday, 15 June 2023, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 29 June 2023. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Thursday, 29 June 2023 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Belarus: Political Prisoners

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government, following their announcement of new sanctions against the government of Belarus, what assessment they have made of the impact of previous sanctions against the government of Belarus, particularly in relation to the treatment of Belarusian political prisoners.

Answer: The UK introduced comprehensive sanctions in response to Belarus' flawed 2020 presidential elections and subsequent brutal crackdown, sanctioning over 120 individuals and entities. These include Lukashenko, security officials, judges and prosecutors. Belarus must be held accountable for both human rights violations, including treatment of political prisoners, against its own people and their support of Putin's illegal war. Since 2022, the Belarusian regime has facilitated Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the UK introduced sanctions in June 2022 and June 2023 in response which severely limited Belarus's ability to trade with the UK. We keep our sanctions under review, and reserve the right to introduce further measures.

Secondary information