Sec. 6. SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS
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## SEC. 6 SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS ###
(a)Application of Sanctions The sanctions described in subsections
(c)through
(f)should apply with respect to the Republic of Belarus until the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Belarus has made significant progress in meeting the conditions described in subsection (b). ###
(b)Conditions The conditions referred to in subsection
(a)are the following: ####
(1)The release of individuals in Belarus who have been jailed based on political or religious beliefs or expression, including those individuals jailed based on political beliefs or expression in connection with repression that attended the presidential election of August 9, 2020. ####
(2)The withdrawal of politically motivated legal charges against all opposition activists, peaceful protesters, and independent journalists in Belarus, including politically motivated legal charges made in connection with repression that attended the presidential election of August 9, 2020. ####
(3)The cessation of all forms of harassment and repression against the independent media, independent trade unions, nongovernmental organizations, youth groups, religious organizations (including their leadership and members), and the political opposition in Belarus. ####
(4)The prosecution of senior leadership of the Government of Belarus responsible for the administration of fraudulent elections and violations of human rights, including violations of human rights committed in connection with the presidential election of August 9, 2020. ####
(5)The holding of free, fair and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections in Belarus consistent with OSCE standards and under the supervision of OSCE observers and independent domestic observers. ###
(c)Denial of Entry Into the United States of Senior Leadership of the Government of Belarus And Russian Individuals Complicit in the Crackdown That Occurred After the August 9, 2020, Election Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President may exercise the authority under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)) to deny the entry into the United States of any alien who— ####
(1)holds a position in the senior leadership of the Government of Belarus; ####
(2)is an immediate family member of a person inadmissible under paragraph (1); ####
(3)through his or her business dealings with senior leadership of the Government of Belarus derives significant financial benefit from policies or actions, including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, or corruption, that undermine or injure democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in Belarus; ####
(4)is a member of the Central Election Commission of Belarus or assisted the Commission in manipulating the presidential election of August 9, 2020; ####
(5)is a member of any branch of the security or law enforcement services of Belarus, including the KGB, Interior Ministry, and OMON special police unit, and is responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or otherwise directing, the crackdown on opposition leaders, journalists, and peaceful protestors that occurred in connection with the presidential election of August 9, 2020; or ####
(6)is a member of any branch of the security or law enforcement services of Belarus and has participated in the persecution or harassment of religious groups, human rights defenders, democratic opposition groups, or independent media or journalists.1 1The period at the end of paragraph
(6)is so in law. It should be a semicolon. ####
(7)is a government official, including at the Information Ministry, responsible for the crackdown on independent media, including revoking the accreditation of journalists, disrupting internet access, and restricting online content; ####
(8)is an official in the so-called “Union State” between Russia and Belarus (regardless of nationality of the individual); or ####
(9)is a Russian individual that has significantly participated in the crackdown on independent press or human rights abuses related to political repression in Belarus, including the Russian propagandists sent to replace local employees at Belarusian state media outlets. ###
(d)Prohibition on Loans and Investment ####
(1)United states government financing It is the sense of Congress that no loan, credit guarantee, insurance, financing, or other similar financial assistance should be extended by any agency of the Government of the United States (including the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the United States International Development Finance Corporation) to the Government of Belarus, except with respect to the provision of humanitarian goods and agricultural or medical products. ####
(2)Trade and development agency It is the sense of Congress that no funds available to the Trade and Development Agency should be available for activities of the Agency in or for Belarus. ###
(e)Multilateral Financial Assistance The Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the United States Executive Director at each international financial institution of which the United States is a member to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose any extension by those institutions of any financial assistance to the Government of Belarus, except for loans and assistance that serve humanitarian needs. ###
(f)Blocking of Assets and Other Prohibited Activities ####
(1)Blocking of assets It is the sense of Congress that the President should block all property and interests in property, including all commercial, industrial, or public utility undertakings or entities, that, on or after the date of the enactment of the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006— #####
(A)are owned, in whole or in part, by the Government of Belarus, or by the senior leadership of the Government of Belarus or by any member or family member closely linked to the senior leadership of the Government of Belarus, or an official of the so-called “Union State” with Russia, or any person who through his or her business dealings with senior leadership of the Government of Belarus derives significant financial benefit from policies or actions, including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, or corruption, that undermine or injure democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in Belarus; and #####
(B)are in the United States, or in the possession or control of the Government of the United States or of any United States financial institution, including any branch or office of such financial institution that is located outside the United States. ####
(2)Prohibited activities Activities prohibited by reason of the blocking of property and interests in property under paragraph
(1)should include— #####
(A)payments or transfers of any property, or any transactions involving the transfer of anything of economic value by any United States person, to the Government of Belarus, to any person or entity acting for or on behalf of, or owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that government, or to any member of the senior leadership of the Government of Belarus, or an official of the so-called “Union State” with Russia; #####
(B)the export or reexport to any entity owned, controlled, or operated by the Government of Belarus, or the so-called “Union State” with Russia,,2 directly or indirectly, of any goods, technology, or services, either— ######
(i)by a United States person; or ######
(ii)involving the use of any air carrier or a vessel documented under the laws of the United States; and 2The double commas in paragraph (2)(B) is so in law. See amendment provided by section 326(5)(B)(ii) of division FF of Public Law 116–260. #####
(C)the performance by any United States person of any contract, including a contract providing a loan or other financing, in support of an industrial, commercial, or public utility operated, controlled, or owned by the Government of Belarus. ####
(3)Payment of expenses All expenses incident to the blocking and maintenance of property blocked under paragraph
(1)should be charged to the owners or operators of such property. Such expenses may not be paid from blocked funds. ####
(4)Rule of construction Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any contract or other financial transaction with any private or nongovernmental organization or business in Belarus. ####
(5)Exceptions Paragraphs
(1)and
(2)do not apply to— #####
(A)assistance authorized under section 4 or 5 of this Act; or #####
(B)medicine, medical equipment or supplies, food, as well as any other form of humanitarian assistance provided to Belarus as relief in response to a humanitarian crisis. ####
(6)Penalties Any person who violates any prohibition or restriction imposed under this subsection should be subject to the penalties under section 6 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as for a violation under that Act. ####
(7)Definitions In this subsection: #####
(A)Air carrier The term “**air carrier**” has the meaning given that term in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code. #####
(B)United states person The term “**United States person**” means— ######
(i)any United States citizen or alien admitted for permanent residence to the United States; ######
(ii)any entity organized under the laws of the United States; and ######
(iii)any person in the United States.
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