European Union sanctions Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko

BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) has added Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his son to its sanctions blacklist, increasing the number of designated people from the eastern European country to 59.

Under the new sanctions imposed on Friday, travel visas will be blocked and any assets the designated persons might have in EU member states will be frozen, the BBC reported. Also EU citizens and companies will be forbidden from lending to them.

The decision in principle to add Lukashenko and his son Viktor, who is national security adviser, was taken on October 12 by EU Foreign Ministers.

Besides the President and his son, the bloc on Friday also sanctioned 15 other people, including Ivan Tertel, the Chairman of the State Security Committee (KGB) of Belarus; and Igor Sergeenko, Lukashenko's chief of staff. In a statement, the EU said that Tertel has been accused of leading the state crackdown, involving "arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment, including torture, of peaceful demonstrators as well as intimidation and violence against journalists". (IANS)

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