West hits Belarus with new sanctions over Ryanair 'piracy'

A Ryanair aircraft, which was carrying Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and diverted to Belarus, where authorities detained him, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania, on May 23, 2021. BRUSSELS: Western powers hit Belarus with a wave of new sanctions on Monday in a coordinated response to Minsk's forced landing of a Ryanair plane last month to arrest a journalist on board, an act that is set to prompt further economic sanctions.

In Monday's mix of travel bans, asset freezes and sanctions on state-owned Belarusian companies, Western governments sought to escalate their pressure on Lukashenko, who is accused of rigging elections last August and cracking down on the opposition to prolong his now 27 years in power. Britain, the United States and Canada added individuals to their sanctions lists, although it was not immediately clear if those now blacklisted in Belarus are all subject to the same travel bans and asset freezes across all countries.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Lukashenko of a"shameful ruse" to arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, 26, on the Ryanair flight, as well as his student girlfriend. "Lukashenko is escalating his violence towards people who are fighting against him, but people are not giving up," she said. EU leaders would discuss giving political approval at a summit on Thursday.While individual sanctions have not had the impact the West has sought, the EU hopes that economic sanctions under preparation can hit Lukashenko hardest.

EU export credits will also end, although private savings will not be targeted. Securities in circulation and traded between fund managers are not expected to be hit, but sanctions on the secondary market could come at a later stage.

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