The European Union will likely impose new sanctions on Belarus as soon as later this month after President Alexander Lukashenko cracked down on protests triggered by a disputed election.
Germany, Lithuania, Latvia and Sweden have spoken publicly in favour of sanctions and Austria was another hawk, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of emergency talks between EU foreign ministers on Friday.
Security forces have clashed with protesters in Minsk and other Belarusian cities in recent days after Lukashenko claimed a landslide re-election victory in a vote on Sunday that his opponents say was rigged.
Belarus confirmed that a young man has died in police custody, the second death since mass protests began on Sunday against the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko. Officials say the cause of death of the 25-year-old man in Gomel is unclear.
His mother however revealed that he had heart problems and was kept for hours in a police van as his condition worsened.
“He screamed, asked them for help … and the police took him for a crazy person and drove him to the psychiatric hospital,” she said.
The UN has condemned the use of violence by authorities, as protests continued for a fourth night. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said police officers were reported to have used excessive force, firing rubber bullets and water cannons, and also throwing stun grenades.
“Reports suggest that more than approximately 6,000 people have been detained in the last three days, including bystanders, as well as minors, suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards,” Ms Bachelet said in a statement.
“Even more disturbing are the reports of ill-treatment during and after detention”, she added, calling for the release of all those unlawfully detained. State TV has shown some bruised detainees lined up and being asked if they intend to continue “making revolution”.
Opposition members have accused police of attacking protesters with impunity. Video showed police officers shooting passersby with rubber bullets and beating demonstrators with batons after their arrest. Police in Brest said that they had opened fire using live ammunition on protesters who had attacked them with metal clubs.
Hundreds have been injured, as police have broken up demonstrations using truncheons, rubber bullets, and stun grenades. The protests, which have taken place nightly in more than 30 cities around the country, are the largest since Lukashenko took power in 1994.
With any EU decision on sanctions requiring unanimity of all the 27 member states, Hungary was the main cynic, according to the sources. Hungary on Thursday called on the bloc “to pursue dialogue with Belarus and avoid ostracizing it”.
“The direction of travel seems clear. How many people would be blacklisted, how deep we go will largely depend on Hungary,” said one EU diplomat in Brussels.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than a quarter of a century, denies electoral fraud and has accused the protesters of being in cahoots with foreign backers from Russia and elsewhere to topple his government.
