USA imposed sanctions against the heads of the “torture” detention center on Akrestsin Street in Minsk

The US State Department has imposed new sanctions against the heads of the “torture” isolation ward at Akrestsin Street in Minsk. About it reported United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Igor Kenyukh and Yevgeny Shapetko were sanctioned for “their involvement in gross human rights violations, namely, torture and / or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment of those detained after the rigged presidential elections on August 9, 2020,” Blinken said in a statement.

This June the USA imposed sanctions against 16 citizens of Belarus and 6 law enforcement organizations (KGB, GUBOPIK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, internal troops, Brest police department and prison on Akrestsin Street). At the same time, the European Union introduced the fourth package of individual sanctions against Belarus, adding 78 people and 8 organizations to it. Among the figurants on the EU list are Lukashenko’s middle son Dmitry and the wife of his eldest son Viktor Lilia.

After the incident with the forced landing of the Ryanair board at the Minsk airport, after receiving a message about mining, they began to actively replenish the sanctions lists with Belarusian security officials, government officials and enterprises of the EU and the United States. On the instructions of Alexander Lukashenko, a fighter was raised to accompany the passenger plane. Lukashenka personally gave the command to land the plane.

On board the plane was the founder of the opposition Telegram channel Nexta Roman Protasevich with his girlfriend. Both of them were detained. The Ministry of Transport of Belarus said that the message about the mining of the Ryanair plane came on behalf of the Palestinian group Hamas.

Later Polish authorities statedthat the actions of the air traffic controllers were directed by an officer of the Belarusian special services, who “monitored the work of the air traffic controller and gave instructions.” The officer himself checked the commands with someone over the phone. The information was confirmed by the dispatcher himself, who, together with the migrants, managed to escape to Poland. The talks between the pilot and the controller were published December 10, the press secretary of the Minister of the Coordinator of the Polish Intelligence Services. On the recording, a third, extraneous voice is clearly audible.