US levels visa restrictions over opposition crackdown in Belarus

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced visa restrictions on more than two dozen Belarusian government officials in response to the trial in absentia of the leading opposition figure to Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the visa restrictions target 25 individuals for their involvement in undermining democracy and come on the day where a Belarusian court has launched a trial against Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main challenger in the 2020 Belarusian presidential elections. 

Lukashenka’s claimed victory in the 2020 elections was challenged by democratic activists in the country, who were backed by the U.S. and other democratic nations. Lukashenko and his government instituted a violent crackdown on protesters, jailing thousands of activists and opposition figures.

Tsikhanouskaya, who fled from Belarus shortly after the 2020 election, is being tried in absentia along with four other leading opposition figures facing charges of high treason, conspiracy to seize power and undermining national security.

“These politically motivated trials are the latest examples of the Lukashenka regime’s efforts to intimidate and repress those who seek justice, respect for human rights and a democratic Belarus,” Blinken said on Tuesday.

“Ms. Tsikhanouskaya leads the pro-democracy movement from exile in Vilnius, defends human rights, and continues to press for a democratic transition in Belarus.  She is on trial along with other pro-democracy leaders, including Volha Kavalkova, head of the Coordination Council, the body tasked with facilitating Belarus’s democratic transition,” he added.

The State Department did not release the names of the 25 individuals it had imposed visa restrictions on, citing privacy restrictions prohibiting it from sharing visa information.  

A State Department spokesperson told The Hill that the 25 individuals are members of parliament in the National Assembly of Belarus and they were targeted “for their involvement in passing legislation expanding the use of the death penalty for persons convicted of supposed ‘attempted acts of terrorism,’ which is a charge used primarily to repress and intimidate members of the democratic opposition and civil society.”

“Some of these individuals have also been involved in legislation revoking citizenship from those outside the country charged with ‘extremism’ and confiscating property from individuals for taking ‘unfriendly actions towards Belarus,’ which were actions similarly aimed at repressing and intimidating members of the democratic opposition and civil society,” the spokesperson continued.

The State Department’s actions Tuesday add to visa restrictions imposed on at least 322 individuals in Belarus who the U.S. government has identified as undermining democracy in the country.