The European Union expands the list of sanctions

According to the European Council statement, the four people added to the sanctions list are judges and prosecutors of the courts established in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed. These four individuals, a Ukrainian journalist and a Crimean Tatar Turk, were claimed to have participated in the sentencing of a person on political grounds, violating freedom of thought and expression.

Two members of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) were also placed on the sanctions list for the torture of Ukrainian journalist Vladislav Yesipenko, as well as for their role in investigations into Yesipenko and some members of the Crimean Tatar community.

Following the latest additions, the number of people sanctioned by the EU under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime increased to 67. There are also 20 organizations on the list.

The sanctions prohibit sanctioned individuals from traveling to the EU, freeze their assets and include barriers to financing them. (AA)