U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and author of the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act, responded to the fraudulent election held yesterday in Belarus.

“’Europe’s last dictator,’ Alexander Lukashenko, has done it again –another farcical proclamation of bogus election victory,” said Smith, who also co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.  “It’s a sham.

“The U.S. government and Congress must continue to support the brave men and women of the Belarusan democracy movement and work for the release of nearly 1,300 political prisoners. This is a ghastly number, which has increased sharply in recent years and clearly has suppressed the democratic election process.

“I’ve authored three U.S. laws sanctioning Lukashenka and his henchmen, and crafting policies to support the Belarusan democratic resistance. The U.S. must continue to sanction dictators and their henchmen and support the democratic opposition. The Belarusan people will one day have a free and fair election where they can select their own government leaders without fear of retribution.   Until then, we must recognize the Belarus government for what it is: a dictatorship. In the coming weeks I will re-introduce a new Belarus Democracy Act, developing the current law to respond better to the current situation in Belarus.”

 A leading human rights lawmaker, Smith is the author of three laws to advance and promote democracy and human rights in Belarus: H.R. 854, the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004; H.R. 5948, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006, and; H.R. 515, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2011.

Smith’s laws, which served as the forerunners for other major human rights laws known as the Sergei Magnitsky Act and the Global Magnitsky Act (for which Smith was the prime sponsor in the House), impose personal sanctions on Lukashenko and other political leaders in his regime, including visa denials and prohibition on their ability to do any commerce with any U.S. entity. The Smith laws require Belarus to release political prisoners and transition toward democracy before the United States lifts the sanctions on Belarusian officials imposed by the laws.

###