"Grodno Azot And Khimvolokno Plant Challenged The Sanctions In The EU Court And Lost

The court said that the purpose of the sanctions was to increase pressure on Lukashenko's regime.

On July 3, the EU Court of Justice ruled in the Grodno Azot case on the appeal against the lawsuit of Grodno Azot and the Khimvolokno plant against the EU Council concerning the EU sanctions imposed on the companies, writes "Salidarnasts".

In the new appeal proceedings, the court rejected the plaintiff's arguments that the companies were sanctioned simply because they belonged to the state and not on the basis of their support for Lukashenko's regime.

The court also stated in its decision that the main purpose of the sanctions was to increase the pressure on the Lukashenko regime to put an end to the serious and persistent violation of human rights in Belarus, infringement of democracy and the rule of law, repression of civil society and democratic opposition.

The EU court eventually rejected the appeal of Grodno Azot and the Khimvolokno plant, leaving the sanctions against them in force and ordering them to reimburse the costs incurred by the EU Council.

The head of the NAU Pavel Latushko believes that "this decision of the EU court is not just a legal formality, it is a clear and unambiguous signal: financial support for repression will have consequences."

The politician noted that the income from the activities of Grodno Azot, among other things, goes to the maintenance of punitive structures and new cells for political prisoners.

- Lukashenko likes to blackmail the West with so-called labor collectives - they say that sanctions hit ordinary workers. But let's be honest: who really takes the profits of these enterprises? The oligarchs and security forces of the regime. And people in Hrodna or Novopolotsk are working without decent wages, deprived of elementary rights and prospects.

The decision of the EU court shows that there will be no support and legalization of Lukashenko's dictatorship. The economy of repression must remain under sanctions until all political prisoners are released in Belarus, torture stops, and the people get the right to choose their government.

The EU imposed sanctions against Grodno Azot in December 2021 due to the company's participation in the repression of protesters after the 2020 presidential election.

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