Canada is imposing sanctions against nine individuals and seven entities on the third anniversary of Belarus’s presidential election, which has been contested.
The sanctions are “being imposed in response to the ongoing gross and systematic violations of human rights occurring in Belarus,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.
The sanctions also target people who support the invasion of Ukraine, the agency said.
“It has been 3 years since the fraudulent August 9, 2020 Belarusian presidential election, which followed a campaign marred by systematic voter repression, including state-sponsored violence against protestors, activists and journalists,” the statement read.
“Since then, the grave injustices carried out by the Belarusian government against its own people have not stopped.”
Those sanctioned include government officials, judges and associates of the regime, including the head of Belarusian state television and military manufacturing and technology companies.
“There can be no impunity for human rights abusers, and the Belarusian regime’s support for the Russian leadership’s brazen acts will not go unpunished,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement.
Belarus’s election in 2020 sparked massive protests. President Alexander Lukashenko, who was first elected in 1994, stayed in power.
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