Backgrounder – Sanctions on fourth anniversary of fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus

Effective immediately, Canada is imposing sanctions against ten individuals and six entities in response to their involvement in ongoing and systematic human rights abuses in Belarus and support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.

Canadian measures

The Special Economic Measures (Belarus) Regulations impose on listed individuals a prohibition on dealings (effectively, an asset freeze) by prohibiting persons in Canada and Canadians outside Canada from dealing in any property of these individuals or providing financial or related services to them. The individuals listed under the schedules of the regulations are also rendered inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The specific prohibitions are set out in the regulations.

The names of the following individuals are added to the schedule of these regulations in response to gross and systematic human rights violations in Belarus, following the 2020 fraudulent presidential elections:

1. Nikolai Aleksandrovich LUKASHENKO (also known as Mikalay Alyaksandravich LUKASHENKA, or Kolya LUKASHENKO)
2. Yuliya Aleksandrovna BLIZNIUK (also known as Yuliya Aliaksandrauna BLIZNIUK, Julija Aleksandrovna BLIZNJUK, Julija Aljaksandrauna BLIZNJUK)
3. Vitali Viktorovich SINILO (also known as Vitaly Victorovich SINILA)
4. Iryna Vasilyeuna PRADUN (also known as Irina Vasilievna PRADUN)
5. Valiantsina Piatrouna NOVIKAVA (also known as Valentina Petrovna NOVIKOVA)
6. Vadzim Ivanavich MAZOL (also known as Vadim Ivanovich MOZOL)
7. Aliaksandr Viktaravich ABASHYN

The name of the following entity is added to the schedule of these regulations for suppressing its employees’ right to peaceful protest following the fraudulent elections of August 2020, intimidating and firing employees who joined peaceful protests and strikes:

1. Open Joint Stock Company "Minsk Electrotechnical Plant named after V.I. Kozlov" (also known as OJSC “Minsk Electrotechnical Plant named after V.I. Kozlov” or OJSC “METP NAMED AFTER V.I.KOZLOV”)

The names of the following individuals are added to the schedule of these regulations in response to their role in the military production in Belarus and in close coordination with Russia:

1. Oleg Grigorievich MISHCHENKO (also known as Aleh Ryhoravich MISHCHANKA)
2. Pavel Nikolaevich MURAVEIKO
3. Andrei Valentinovich FEDIN

The names of the following entities added to the schedule of these regulations as they operate as part of the Belarusian defence and military-industrial complex and are involved in the production or repair of military equipment which enables Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine:

1. Design Bureau “Display” JSC
2. Minsk Research Institute of Instrument Engineering JSC
3. Research Institute of Electronic Computers JSC
4. Planar JSC
5. Gomselmash JSC