February 18th local time, a Belarusian court sentenced two Belarusian journalists to two years’ imprisonment for violating public order.
Later that day, the United States announced the imposition of visa restrictions on 43 Belarusian officials.
Two Belarusian journalists sentenced to imprisonment, employees of Belsa, a Polish-based television channel Belsa, were arrested in November last year while filming a large-scale protest in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Al Jazeera reported that after a Belarusian court sentenced the two journalists to two years in prison for violating public order, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement later in the day saying that the United States expressed shock at the Lukashenka government’s “continuous crackdown on peaceful protesters, activists and journalists” and would Three “undermining Belarusian democracy” imposed visa restrictions and banned them from entering the United States.
The 43 people included senior justice officials, law enforcement personnel, etc. who “detained and abused peaceful demonstrators,” Blinken said.
In the presidential election in Belarus last August, Lukashenka won with 80.1% of the vote and was re-elected president. Subsequently, there were many large-scale protests in cities such as Minsk, the capital of the White, and protesters questioned the results of the presidential election.
Last December, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions on some white officials and institutions on the grounds of fraud in the presidential election in Belarus, including freezing their property in the United States and prohibiting U.S. citizens from doing business with them.
Last December, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions on some white officials and institutions on the grounds of fraud in the presidential election in Belarus, including freezing their property in the United States and prohibiting U.S. citizens from doing business with them.
