EU adds one, removes 8 people from Belarus sanctions list

The official news bulleting of the European Union notes that the Council of the European Union has moved to add one more person - Vital Volkau, a judge at Shklou Distict Court - to the 'black list' of Bearusian officials, law-enforcement and security offciers and businessmen that are banned from traveling to the EU. Two years ago, Volkau ruled to transfer political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich to closed-type prison.

The EU has removed eight people from the travel-ban list. They are: former Deputy Prosecutor General Aliaksandr Arkhipau who was recently convicted to six years in prison for office and power abuse, former deputies for KGB chairman Mikalai Svarob and Piotr Tracciak, former chief of government communication department at KGB Ihar Varapayeu, former judge at Minsk's Frunzenski District Court Hanna Samaliuk, former chairman of Mahilou Regional Electoral Commission Valery Berastau, former member of Central Election Commission Natallia Bushnaya and prosecutor Andrei Mihun.

The Council of the EU says "there are no more grounds" for these people to remain on the 'black list'. As of today, 232 people on the Belarus travel-ban list of the European Union.

Check the officia text of the resoution here.

Photo: АР