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Document 02020R1998-20210322

    Consolidated text: Council Regulation (EU) 2020/1998 of 7 December 2020 concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses

    ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/1998/2021-03-22

    02020R1998 — EN — 22.03.2021 — 002.001


    This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document

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    COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2020/1998

    of 7 December 2020

    concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses

    (OJ L 410I 7.12.2020, p. 1)

    Amended by:

     

     

    Official Journal

      No

    page

    date

    ►M1

    COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/371 of 2 March 2021

      L 71I

    1

    2.3.2021

    ►M2

    COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/478 of 22 March 2021

      L 99I

    1

    22.3.2021




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    COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) 2020/1998

    of 7 December 2020

    concerning restrictive measures against serious human rights violations and abuses



    Article 1

    For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

    (a) 

    ‘claim’ means any claim, whether asserted by legal proceedings or not, made before or after the date of entry into force of this Regulation, under or in connection with a contract or transaction, and in particular:

    (i) 

    a claim for performance of any obligation arising under or in connection with a contract or transaction;

    (ii) 

    a claim for extension or payment of a bond, financial guarantee or indemnity of whatever form;

    (iii) 

    a claim for compensation in respect of a contract or transaction;

    (iv) 

    a counterclaim;

    (v) 

    a claim for the recognition or enforcement, including by the procedure of exequatur, of a judgment, an arbitration award or an equivalent decision, wherever made or given;

    (b) 

    ‘contract or transaction’ means any transaction of whatever form and whatever the applicable law, whether comprising one or more contracts or similar obligations made between the same or different parties; for that purpose ‘contract’ includes a bond, guarantee or indemnity, particularly a financial guarantee or financial indemnity, and credit, whether legally independent or not, as well as any related provision arising under, or in connection with, the transaction;

    (c) 

    ‘competent authorities’ refers to the competent authorities of the Member States as identified on the websites listed in Annex II;

    (d) 

    ‘economic resources’ means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, which are not funds, but may be used to obtain funds, goods or services;

    (e) 

    ‘freezing of economic resources’ means preventing the use of economic resources to obtain funds, goods or services in any way, including, but not limited to, by selling, hiring or mortgaging them;

    (f) 

    ‘freezing of funds’ means preventing any move, transfer, alteration, use of, access to, or dealing with funds in any way that would result in any change in their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character, destination or other change that would enable the funds to be used, including portfolio management;

    (g) 

    ‘funds’ means financial assets and benefits of every kind, including, but not limited to:

    (i) 

    cash, cheques, claims on money, drafts, money orders and other payment instruments;

    (ii) 

    deposits with financial institutions or other entities, balances on accounts, debts and debt obligations;

    (iii) 

    publicly- and privately-traded securities and debt instruments, including stocks and shares, certificates representing securities, bonds, notes, warrants, debentures and derivatives contracts;

    (iv) 

    interest, dividends or other income on or value accruing from or generated by assets;

    (v) 

    credit, right of set-off, guarantees, performance bonds or other financial commitments;

    (vi) 

    letters of credit, bills of lading, bills of sale;

    (vii) 

    documents showing evidence of an interest in funds or financial resources;

    (h) 

    ‘territory of the Union’ means the territories of the Member States to which the Treaty on European Union (TEU) is applicable, under the conditions laid down in the TEU, including their airspace.

    Article 2

    1.  

    This Regulation applies to:

    (a) 

    genocide;

    (b) 

    crimes against humanity;

    (c) 

    the following serious human rights violations or abuses:

    (i) 

    torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

    (ii) 

    slavery;

    (iii) 

    extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings;

    (iv) 

    enforced disappearance of persons;

    (v) 

    arbitrary arrests or detentions;

    (d) 

    other human rights violations or abuses, including but not limited to the following, in so far as those violations or abuses are widespread, systematic or are otherwise of serious concern as regards the objectives of the common foreign and security policy set out in Article 21 TEU:

    (i) 

    trafficking in human beings, as well as abuses of human rights by migrant smugglers as referred to in this Article;

    (ii) 

    sexual and gender-based violence;

    (iii) 

    violations or abuses of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association;

    (iv) 

    violations or abuses of freedom of opinion and expression;

    (v) 

    violations or abuses of freedom of religion or belief.

    2.  

    For the purpose of applying paragraph 1, regard should be had to customary international law and widely accepted instruments of international law, such as:

    (a) 

    the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

    (b) 

    the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

    (c) 

    the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,

    (d) 

    the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

    (e) 

    the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

    (f) 

    the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

    (g) 

    the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

    (h) 

    the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance;

    (i) 

    the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

    (j) 

    the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime;

    (k) 

    the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

    (l) 

    the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

    3.  

    For the purposes of applying this Regulation, natural or legal persons, entities or bodies may include:

    (a) 

    State actors;

    (b) 

    other actors exercising effective control or authority over a territory;

    (c) 

    other non-State actors, subject to Article 1(4) of Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999.

    Article 3

    1.  
    All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by any natural or legal person, entity or body as listed in Annex I shall be frozen.
    2.  
    No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I.
    3.  

    Annex I shall include, as identified by the Council in accordance with Article 3 of Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999:

    (a) 

    natural or legal persons, entities or bodies, who are responsible for acts set out in Article 2(1);

    (b) 

    natural or legal persons, entities or bodies, who provide financial, technical, or material support for or are otherwise involved in acts set out in Article 2(1), including by planning, directing, ordering, assisting, preparing, facilitating, or encouraging such acts;

    (c) 

    natural or legal persons, entities or bodies, who are associated with the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies covered by points (a) and (b).

    Article 4

    1.  

    By way of derogation from Article 3, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic resources concerned are:

    (a) 

    necessary to satisfy the basic needs of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I, and dependent family members of such natural persons, including payments for food, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;

    (b) 

    intended exclusively for the payment of reasonable professional fees or the reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;

    (c) 

    intended exclusively for the payment of fees or service charges for the routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources;

    (d) 

    necessary for extraordinary expenses, provided that the relevant competent authority has notified the competent authorities of the other Member States and the Commission of the grounds on which it considers that a specific authorisation should be granted, at least two weeks prior to the authorisation; or

    (e) 

    to be paid into or from an account of a diplomatic or consular mission or an international organisation enjoying immunities in accordance with international law, insofar as such payments are intended to be used for official purposes of the diplomatic or consular mission or international organisation.

    2.  
    The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under paragraph 1 within two weeks of the authorisation.

    Article 5

    1.  
    By way of derogation from Article 3, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, after having determined that the provision of such funds or economic resources is necessary for humanitarian purposes, such as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, or the transfer of humanitarian workers and related assistance or for evacuations.
    2.  
    The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under paragraph 1 within four weeks of the authorisation.

    Article 6

    1.  

    By way of derogation from Article 3(1), the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, if the following conditions are met:

    (a) 

    the funds or economic resources are the subject of an arbitral decision rendered prior to the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in Article 3 was listed in Annex I, or of a judicial or administrative decision rendered in the Union, or a judicial decision enforceable in the Member State concerned, prior to or after that date;

    (b) 

    the funds or economic resources will be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a decision or recognised as valid in such a decision, within the limits set by applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;

    (c) 

    the decision is not for the benefit of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I; and

    (d) 

    recognition of the decision is not contrary to public policy in the Member State concerned.

    2.  
    The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under paragraph 1 within two weeks of the authorisation.

    Article 7

    1.  

    By way of derogation from Article 3(1) and provided that a payment by a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I is due under a contract or agreement that was concluded by, or an obligation that arose for, the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned, before the date on which that natural or legal person, entity or body was included in Annex I, the competent authorities of the Member States may authorise, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided that the competent authority concerned has determined that:

    (a) 

    the funds or economic resources will be used for a payment by a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in Annex I; and

    (b) 

    the payment is not in breach of Article 3(2).

    2.  
    The Member State concerned shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under paragraph 1 within two weeks of the authorisation.

    Article 8

    1.  
    Article 3(2) shall not prevent the crediting of frozen accounts by financial or credit institutions that receive funds transferred by third parties onto the account of a listed natural or legal person, entity or body, provided that any additions to such accounts will also be frozen. The financial or credit institution shall inform the relevant competent authority about any such transaction without delay.
    2.  

    Article 3(2) shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:

    (a) 

    interest or other earnings on those accounts;

    (b) 

    payments due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose before the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in Article 3 was included in Annex I; or

    (c) 

    payments due under judicial, administrative or arbitral decisions rendered in a Member State or enforceable in the Member State concerned,

    provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments remain subject to the measures provided for in Article 3(1).

    Article 9

    1.  

    Without prejudice to the applicable rules concerning reporting, confidentiality and professional secrecy, natural and legal persons, entities and bodies shall:

    (a) 

    supply immediately any information which would facilitate compliance with this Regulation, such as information on accounts and amounts frozen in accordance with Article 3(1), to the competent authority of the Member State where they are resident or located, and transmit such information, directly or through the Member State, to the Commission; and

    (b) 

    cooperate with the competent authority in any verification of the information referred to in point (a).

    2.  
    Any additional information received directly by the Commission shall be made available to the Member States.
    3.  
    Any information provided or received in accordance with this Article shall be used only for the purposes for which it was provided or received.

    Article 10

    It shall be prohibited to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent the measures referred to in Article 3.

    Article 11

    1.  
    The freezing of funds and economic resources or the refusal to make funds or economic resources available, carried out in good faith on the basis that such action is in accordance with this Regulation, shall not give rise to liability of any kind on the part of the natural or legal person or entity or body implementing it, or its directors or employees, unless it is proved that the funds and economic resources were frozen or withheld as a result of negligence.
    2.  
    Actions by natural or legal persons, entities or bodies shall not give rise to any liability of any kind on their part if they did not know, and had no reasonable cause to suspect, that their actions would infringe the measures set out in this Regulation.

    Article 12

    1.  

    No claims in connection with any contract or transaction the performance of which has been affected, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the measures imposed under this Regulation, including claims for indemnity or any other claim of this type, such as a claim for compensation or a claim under a guarantee, in particular a claim for extension or payment of a bond or of a guarantee or indemnity, in particular a financial guarantee or financial indemnity, of whatever form, shall be satisfied, if they are made by:

    (a) 

    natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex I;

    (b) 

    any natural or legal person, entity or body acting through or on behalf of one of the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies referred to in point (a).

    2.  
    In any proceedings for the enforcement of a claim, the onus of proving that satisfying the claim is not prohibited by paragraph 1 shall be on the natural or legal person, entity or body seeking the enforcement of that claim.
    3.  
    This Article is without prejudice to the right of the natural or legal persons, entities and bodies referred to in paragraph 1 to judicial review of the legality of the non-performance of contractual obligations in accordance with this Regulation.

    Article 13

    1.  

    The Commission and Member States shall inform each other of the measures taken under this Regulation and share any other relevant information at their disposal in connection with this Regulation, in particular information in respect of:

    (a) 

    funds frozen under Article 3 and authorisations granted under Articles 4, 5, 6 and 7;

    (b) 

    violation and enforcement problems and judgments handed down by national courts.

    2.  
    The Member States shall immediately inform each other and the Commission of any other relevant information at their disposal which might affect the effective implementation of this Regulation.

    Article 14

    1.  
    Where the Council decides to subject a natural or legal person, entity or body to the measures referred to in Article 3, it shall amend Annex I accordingly.
    2.  
    The Council shall communicate the decision referred to in paragraph 1, including the grounds for listing, to the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned, either directly, if the address is known, or through the publication of a notice, providing that natural or legal person, entity or body with an opportunity to present observations.
    3.  
    Where observations are submitted, or where substantial new evidence is presented, the Council shall review the decisions referred to in paragraph 1 and inform the natural or legal person, entity or body concerned accordingly.
    4.  
    The list in Annex I shall be reviewed at regular intervals and at least every 12 months.
    5.  
    The Commission shall be empowered to amend Annex II on the basis of information supplied by Member States.

    Article 15

    1.  
    Annex I shall include the grounds for the listing of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies concerned.
    2.  
    Annex I shall contain, where available, the information necessary to identify the natural or legal persons, entities or bodies concerned. With regard to natural persons, such information may include: names and aliases; date and place of birth; nationality; passport and identity card numbers; gender; address, if known; and function or profession. With regard to legal persons, entities or bodies, such information may include: names; place and date of registration; registration number; and place of business.

    Article 16

    1.  
    Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
    2.  
    Member States shall notify the Commission of the rules referred to in paragraph 1 without delay after the entry into force of this Regulation and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment.

    Article 17

    1.  

    The Council, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (the ‘High Representative’) shall process personal data in order to carry out their tasks under this Regulation. These tasks include:

    (a) 

    as regards the Council, preparing and making amendments to Annex I;

    (b) 

    as regards the High Representative, preparing amendments to Annex I;

    (c) 

    as regards the Commission:

    (i) 

    adding the contents of Annex I to the electronic, consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to Union financial sanctions and to the interactive sanctions map, both publicly available;

    (ii) 

    processing information on the impact of the measures provided for in this Regulation such as the value of frozen funds and information on authorisations granted by the competent authorities.

    2.  
    The Council, the Commission and the High Representative may process, where applicable, relevant data relating to criminal offences committed by listed natural persons, to criminal convictions of such persons or to security measures concerning such persons, only to the extent that such processing is necessary for the preparation of Annex I.
    3.  
    For the purposes of this Regulation, the Council, the Commission service listed in Annex II to this Regulation and the High Representative are designated as ‘controller’ within the meaning of point (8) of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in order to ensure that the natural persons concerned can exercise their rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

    Article 18

    1.  
    Member States shall designate the competent authorities referred to in this Regulation and identify them on the websites listed in Annex II. Member States shall notify the Commission of any changes in the addresses of their websites listed in Annex II.
    2.  
    Member States shall notify the Commission of their competent authorities, including the contact details of those competent authorities, without delay after the entry into force of this Regulation, and shall notify it of any subsequent amendment.
    3.  
    Where this Regulation sets out a requirement to notify, inform or otherwise communicate with the Commission, the address and other contact details to be used for such communication shall be those indicated in Annex II.

    Article 19

    This Regulation shall apply:

    (a) 

    within the territory of the Union, including its airspace;

    (b) 

    on board any aircraft or vessel under the jurisdiction of a Member State;

    (c) 

    to any natural person inside or outside the territory of the Union who is a national of a Member State;

    (d) 

    to any legal person, entity or body, inside or outside the territory of the Union, which is incorporated or constituted under the law of a Member State;

    (e) 

    to any legal person, entity or body in respect of any business done in whole or in part within the Union.

    Article 20

    This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

    This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.




    ANNEX I

    List of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies referred to in Article 3

    A. 

    Natural persons

    ▼M1



     

    ►M2  Names (Transliteration into Latin script) ◄

    ►M2  Names ◄

    Identifying information

    Reasons for listing

    Date of listing

    1.

    Alexander (Alexandr) Petrovich KALASHNIKOV

    Aлександр Петрович КАЛАШНИКОВ

    Position(s): Director of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN)

    DOB: 27.1.1964

    POB: Tatarsk, Novosibirsk Region/Oblast, Russian SFSR (now Russian Federation)

    Nationality: Russian

    Gender: male

    Alexander Kalashnikov has been the director of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) since 8 October 2019. In that position, he oversees all activities of the FSIN. In his capacity as director of the FSIN, he is responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, including arbitrary arrests and detentions.

    In the case of Alexei Navalny, while Mr Navalny was recovering in Germany (September 2020-January 2021) after having been poisoned with a toxic nerve agent of the Novichok group, on 28 December 2020 FSIN demanded that he immediately present himself to a probation officer or face a prison sentence for violating a suspended sentence for fraud conviction. That fraud conviction had been found arbitrary and unfair by the European Court of Human Rights in 2018. On 17 January 2021, acting on the orders of Alexander Kalashnikov, FSIN officers detained Alexei Navalny upon his arrival at Moscow airport. Alexei Navalny’s arrest is based on a decision by the Khimki city court, which in turn was issued at the request of FSIN. In late December 2020, FSIN had already requested that a court replace Alexei Nalvany’s suspended sentence with a prison term. On 17 February 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Government of Russia to release Alexei Navalny.

    2 March 2021

    2.

    Alexander (Alexandr) Ivanovich BASTRYKIN

    Алексaндр Ивaнович БАСТРЫКИН

    Position(s): Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

    DOB: 27.8.1953

    POB: Pskov, Russian SFSR (now Russian Federation)

    Nationality: Russian

    Gender: male

    Alexander Bastrykin has served as chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (the ‘Committee’) since January 2011 (and as acting chairman from October to December 2010). In that position, he oversees all activities of the Committee. Officially, the Committee is presided over by the Russian President. In Alexander Bastrykin’s capacity as chairman of the Committee, he is responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, including arbitrary arrests and detentions.

    Alexander Bastrykin is responsible for the Committee’s widespread and systematic repressive campaigns against the Russian opposition, targeting and investigating their members. On 29 December 2020, the Committee launched an investigation into the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, charging him with large-scale fraud. Alexei Navalny and others published articles on Alexander Bastrykin’s ownership of Czech real estate firm LAW Bohemia in the 2000s.

    2 March 2021

    3.

    Igor Viktorovich KRASNOV

    Игорь Викторович КРАСНОВ

    Position(s): Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation

    DOB: 24.12.1975

    POB: Arkhangelsk, Russian SFSR (now Russian Federation)

    Nationality: Russian

    Gender: male

    Igor Krasnov has been Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation since 22 January 2020, and is the former Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. In his position as Prosecutor General, he supervises the Prosecutor’s Offices in the Russian Federation, the Special Prosecutor’s Offices and the Military Prosecutor’s Office. In his capacity as Prosecutor General, he is responsible for serious human rights violations, including the arbitrary detentions of protesters, and for widespread and systematic repression of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and freedom of opinion and expression.

    Ahead of the 23 January 2021 protests, the Prosecutor General’s Office warned that participants would be held responsible. Moreover, the Prosecutor General’s Office demanded that the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) restrict access to opposition websites and social network accounts that contained information on planned gatherings of Alexei Navalny’s supporters. On 29 January 2021, the Prosecutor General’s Office once again demanded that Roskomnadzor restrict access to opposition websites and social network accounts, this time ahead of the pro-Navalny protests on 30 and 31 January 2021. Warnings were sent to internet companies (Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Google, Mail.ru Group). The Prosecutor General’s Office also announced that those taking part in the demonstrations would be prosecuted.

    The Prosecutor General’s Office supported the request by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) to convert the suspended sentence imposed on Alexei Navalny in a case of alleged fraud to a prison sentence. Despite the fact that his conviction in that case had been found arbitrary and unfair by the European Court of Human Rights in 2018, Alexei Navalny was arrested upon his arrival at Moscow airport on 17 January 2021.

    2 March 2021

    4.

    Viktor Vasilievich (Vasilyevich) ZOLOTOV

    Виктор Васильевич ЗОЛОТОВ

    Position(s): Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation (Rosgvardia)

    DOB: 27.1.1954

    POB: Sasovo, Russian SFSR (now Russian Federation)

    Nationality: Russian

    Gender: male

    Viktor Zolotov has been the Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation (Rosgvardia) since 5 April 2016 and therefore Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, as well as Commander of OMON – the Special Purpose Mobile Unit integrated in Rosgvardia. In that position, he oversees all activities of Rosgvardia and OMON troops. In his capacity as Director of Rosgvardia, he is responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, including arbitrary arrests and detentions and systematic and widespread violations of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, in particular by violently repressing protests and demonstrations.

    Rosgvardia was employed to quell the 23 January 2021 pro-Navalny demonstrations and many OMON and National Guard officers were reported to have used brutality and violence against protesters. Dozens of journalists were targeted with aggression by the security forces, including Meduza’s correspondent Kristina Safronova, who was hit by an OMON officer, and Novaya Gazeta’s journalist Yelizaveta Kirpanova, who was hit on the head with a truncheon leaving her bleeding. Security forces arbitrarily detained more than 300 minors.

    2 March 2021

    ▼M2

    5.

    ZHU Hailun

    朱海仑 (Chinese spelling)

    Position(s): Former Deputy Head of the 13th People’s Congress of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)

    DOB: January 1958

    POB: Lianshui, Jiangsu (China)

    Nationality: Chinese

    Gender: male

    Former Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the XUAR (2016 to 2019). Former Deputy Head of the 13th People’s Congress of the XUAR, a regional legislative body (2019 to February 2021).

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR (2016 to 2019), Zhu Hailun was responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he held a key political position in charge of overseeing and implementing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities. Zhu Hailun has been described as the ‘architect’ of this programme. He is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.

     

     

     

     

     

    As Deputy Head of the 13th People’s Congress of the XUAR (2019 to February 2021), Zhu Hailun continued to exercise a decisive influence in the XUAR where the large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities continues.

     

    6.

    WANG Junzheng

    王君正 (Chinese spelling)

    Position(s): Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; Political commissar of the XPCC and CEO of the China Xinjian Group

    DOB: May 1963

    POB: Linyi, Shandong (China)

    Nationality: Chinese

    Gender: male

    Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) since April 2020, as well as Political commissar of the XPCC since May 2020. Former Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR (February 2019 to September 2020). Wang Junzheng also holds other senior posts in the XPCC.

    The XPCC is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organisation in the XUAR, which exercises administrative authority and controls economic activities in Xinjiang.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As Party Secretary and Political commissar of the XPCC since 2020, Wang Junzheng is involved in overseeing all policies implemented by the XPCC. In this position, he is responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief, linked, inter alia, to the XPCC’s implementation of a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.

     

     

     

     

     

    He is also responsible for the XPCC’s systematic use of Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities as a forced workforce, in particular in cotton fields.

    As Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the XUAR since 2020, Wang Junzheng is involved in overseeing all the security policies implemented in Xinjiang, including the aforementioned programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities. As Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR (February 2019 to September 2020), Wang Junzheng was responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he held a key political position in charge of overseeing and implementing the aforementioned programme.

     

    7.

    WANG Mingshan

    王明山 (Chinese spelling)

    Position(s): Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR

    DOB: January 1964

    POB: Wuwei, Gansu (China)

    Nationality: Chinese

    Gender: male

    Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR since September 2020. Former Director and Deputy Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB) between 2017 and January 2021.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the XUAR since September 2020, Wang Mingshan is responsible for maintaining internal security and law enforcement in the XUAR. As such, he holds a key political position in charge of overseeing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities.

     

     

     

     

     

    As Former Director and Deputy Party Secretary of the XPSB (2017 to January 2021), he held a key position in Xinjiang’s security apparatus and was directly responsible for implementing the aforementioned programme. In particular, the XPSB has deployed the ‘Integrated Joint Operations Platform’ (IJOP), a big data programme used to track millions of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region and flag those deemed ‘potentially threatening’ to be sent to detention camps.

    In his current position and due to his former functions, Wang Mingshan is responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief.

     

    8.

    CHEN Mingguo

    陈明国

    (Chinese spelling)

    Position(s): Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB) and Vice-Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) People’s Government

    DOB: October 1966

    POB: Yilong, Sichuan (China)

    Nationality: Chinese

    Gender: male

    Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB) since January 2021 and Vice-Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) People’s Government.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As Director of the XPSB, Chen Mingguo holds a key position in Xinjiang’s security apparatus and is directly involved in implementing a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities. In particular, the XPSB has deployed the ‘Integrated Joint Operations Platform’ (IJOP), a big data programme used to track millions of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region and flag those deemed ‘potentially threatening’ to be sent to detention camps. Chen Mingguo is therefore responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief.

     

    9.

    JONG Kyong-thaek (a.k.a. CHO’NG Kyo’ng-t’aek)

    정경택

    (Korean spelling)

    Position(s): Minister of State Security of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

    DOB: between 1.1.1961 and 31.12.1963

    Nationality: North Korean

    Gender: male

    Jong Kyong-thaek is the Minister of State Security of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) since 2017.

    The Ministry of State Security of the DPRK is one of the leading institutions in charge of implementing the repressive security policies of the DPRK, with a focus on identifying and suppressing political dissent, the inflow of ‘subversive’ information from abroad, and any other conduct considered a serious political threat to the political system and its leadership.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As Head of the Ministry of State Security, Jong Kyong-thaek is responsible for serious human rights violations in the DPRK, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, enforced disappearance of persons, and arbitrary arrests or detentions, as well as widespread forced labour and sexual violence against women.

     

    10.

    RI Yong Gil

    (a.k.a. RI Yong Gi, RI Yo’ng-kil, YI Yo’ng-kil)

    리영길

    (Korean spelling)

    Position(s): Minister of Social Security of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

    DOB: 1955

    Nationality: North Korean

    Gender: male

    Ri Yong Gil is the Minister of Social Security of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) since January 2021 and former Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) between 2018 and January 2021.

    The Ministry of Social Security of the DPRK (formerly known as the Ministry of People’s Security or Ministry of Public Security) is one of the leading institutions in charge of implementing the repressive security policies of the DPRK, including interrogation and punishment of people ‘illegally’ fleeing the DPRK. In particular, the Ministry of Social Security is in charge of running prison camps and short-term labour detention centres through its Correctional Bureau, where prisoners/detainees are subject to deliberate starvation and other inhuman treatment.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As Head of the Ministry of Social Security, Ri Yong Gil is responsible for serious human rights violations in the DPRK, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, enforced disappearance of persons, and arbitrary arrests or detentions, as well as widespread forced labour and sexual violence against women.

    As former Chief of the General Staff of the KPA, Ri Yong Gil is also responsible for the widespread serious human rights violations committed by the KPA.

     

    11.

    Mohammed Khalifa AL-KANI (a.k.a. Mohamed Khalifa Abderrahim Shaqaqi AL-KANI, Mohammed AL-KANI, Muhammad Omar AL-KANI)

    الكاني خليفة محمد (Arabic spelling)

    Position(s): Head of the Kaniyat Militia

    DOB: 3.5.1979

    Nationality: Libyan

    Passport number: F86JKFJF

    Gender: male

    Mohammed Khalifa Al-Kani is the Head of the Kaniyat Militia, which exercised control of the Libyan town of Tarhuna between 2015 and June 2020. In that position, he oversees all activities of the Kaniyat Militia. In his capacity as the Head of the Kaniyat Militia, he is responsible for serious human rights abuses in Libya, in particular extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of persons between 2015 and June 2020 in Tarhuna.

    Mohammed Khalifa Al-Kani and the Kaniyat Militia fled Tarhuna in early June 2020 to eastern Libya. After that, several mass graves attributed to the Kaniyat Militia were discovered in Tarhuna.

    22.3.2021

    12.

    Abderrahim AL-KANI (a.k.a. Abdul-Rahim AL-KANI, Abd-al-Rahim AL-KANI)

    الرحيم الكاني عبد (Arabic spelling)

    Position(s): member of the Kaniyat Militia

    DOB: 7.9.1997

    Nationality: Libyan

    Passport number: PH3854LY

    ID number: 119970331820

    Gender: male

    Abderrahim Al-Kani is a key member of the Kaniyat Militia and brother of the Head of the Kaniyat Militia, Mohammed Khalifa Al-Khani. The Kaniyat Militia exercised control of the Libyan town of Tarhuna between 2015 and June 2020.

    Abderrahim Al-Kani is in charge of internal security for the Kaniyat Militia. In that capacity, he is responsible for serious human rights abuses in Libya, in particular extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of persons between 2015 and June 2020 in Tarhuna.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    Abderrahim Al-Kani and the Kaniyat Militia fled Tarhuna in early June 2020 to eastern Libya. After that, several mass graves attributed to the Kaniyat Militia were discovered in Tarhuna.

     

    13.

    Aiub Vakhaevich KATAEV

    (a.k.a. Ayubkhan Vakhaevich KATAEV)

    Аюб Вахаевич КАТАЕВ

    (a.k.a. Аюбхан Вахаевич КАТАЕВ) (Russian spelling)

    Position(s): Head of Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the city of Argun in the Chechen Republic

    DOB: 1.12.1980 or 1.12.1984

    Nationality: Russian

    Gender: male

    Head of Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the city of Argun in the Chechen Republic.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    In his capacity as Head of Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Argun, Aiub Kataev oversees the activities of local state security and police agencies. In this position, he personally oversees widespread and systematic persecutions in Chechnya, which began in 2017. The repressions are directed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, those presumed to belong to LGBTI groups, and other individuals suspected of being opponents of the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. Aiub Kataev and forces under his command are responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions and extrajudicial or arbitrary executions and killings.

     

     

     

     

     

    According to numerous witnesses, Aiub Kataev personally supervised and took part in torturing detainees.

     

    14.

    Abuzaid (Abuzayed) Dzhandarovich VISMURADOV

    Абузайд Джандарович ВИСМУРАДОВ (Russian spelling)

    Position(s): Commander of the Special Rapid-Response Unit (SOBR) Team ‘Terek’, Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic, unofficial bodyguard of the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov

    DOB: 24.12.1975

    POB: Akhmat-Yurt/Khosi-Yurt, former Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), now Chechen Republic (Russian Federation)

    Nationality: Russian

    Gender: male

    Commander of the Special Rapid-Response Unit (SOBR) Team ‘Terek’, Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic, unofficial bodyguard of the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.

    Abuzaid Vismuradov has been the commander of the SOBR detachment ‘Terek’ since May 2012. In this position, he personally oversees widespread and systematic persecutions in Chechnya, which began in 2017. The repressions are directed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons, those presumed to belong to LGBTI groups and other individuals suspected of being opponents of the Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    Abuzaid Vismuradov and the ‘Terek’ unit under his command are responsible for serious human rights violations in Russia, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions and extrajudicial and arbitrary killings and executions.

    According to numerous witnesses, Abuzaid Vismuradov personally supervised and took part in torturing detainees. He is a close associate of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, who has been conducting a campaign of repression against his political opponents for many years.

     

    15.

    Gabriel Moses LOKUJO

    -

    Position(s): Major General of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF)

    Nationality: South Sudanese

    Gender: male

    Major General of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF).

    Gabriel Moses Lokujo is responsible for serious human rights violation in South Sudan, in particular extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings.

    In May 2020, three officers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) were abducted and executed on the orders of Major General Lokujo.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    Major General Lokujo defected in September 2020 from the SPLA-IO to the SSPDF and is responsible for the ensuing clashes in and around the Moroto Training Center in southern Central Equatoria. As a consequence, several deaths and injuries were reported on both sides during the last quarter of 2020, and civilians were also displaced, especially in the Kajo-Keji area of Central Equatoria State. Major General Lokujo’s forces remained in the area where several further clashes have been reported and the safety and security of the civilian communities continue to be in jeopardy.

     

    ▼B

    B. 

    Legal persons, entities and bodies

    ▼M2



     

    Name (Transliteration into Latin script)

    Name

    Identifying information

    Reasons for listing

    Date of listing

    1.

    Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau

    新疆生产建设兵团公安局

    (Chinese spelling)

    Address: 106 Guangming Road, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), China

    Telephone: +86 991 598 8114

    The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) Public Security Bureau is in charge of implementing all policies of the XPCC relating to security matters, including the management of detention centres. The XPCC is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organisation in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which exercises administrative authority and controls economic activities in Xinjiang.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    As the organisation in charge of security policies within the XPCC, the XPCC Public Security Bureau is responsible for serious human rights violations in China, in particular large-scale arbitrary detentions and degrading treatment inflicted upon Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as systematic violations of their freedom of religion or belief, linked, inter alia, to the XPCC’s implementation of a large-scale surveillance, detention and indoctrination programme targeting Muslim ethnic minorities.

    As part of the aforementioned programme, the XPCC uses Uyghurs and people from other Muslim ethnic minorities as a forced workforce, in particular in cotton fields. As the organisation in charge of security policies within the XPCC, the XPCC Public Security Bureau is responsible for the systematic use of forced labour.

     

    2.

    Central Public Prosecutor’s Office (a.k.a. Office of the Prosecutor of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK))

    조선민주주의인민공화국 중앙검찰소 (Korean spelling)

     

    The Central Public Prosecutor’s Office is an institution which oversees all criminal proceedings in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), including investigation, interrogation, pre-trial detention and trial.

    22.3.2021

     

     

     

     

    The Central Public Prosecutor’s Office is used to prosecute and punish persons for political wrongdoing in fundamentally unfair trials. It also carries institutional responsibility for serious human rights violations in ordinary prisons and interrogation detention centres by failing to enforce the rights of pre-trial detainees and convicted prisoners. In close cooperation with the Ministries of State Security and of Social Security, it bears responsibility for and provides legitimacy to serious human rights violations committed by the DPRK security apparatus, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, enforced disappearances of persons, and arbitrary arrests or detentions.

     

    3.

    Kaniyat Militia (f.k.a. 7th Brigade, Tarhuna 7th Brigade, Tarhuna Brigade) (a.k.a. 9th Brigade, Al-Kani Militia, Al-Kaniyat, Kani Brigade, Kaniat, Kaniyat, Kanyat)

    مليشيا كانيات (Arabic spelling)

     

    The Kaniyat Militia is a Libyan armed militia, which exercised control in the Libyan town of Tarhuna between 2015 and June 2020. Mass graves attributed to the Kaniyat Militia were discovered in Tarhuna after the militia fled to eastern Libya in June 2020. The Kaniyat Militia is responsible for serious human rights abuses, in particular extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances of persons.

    22.3.2021

    4.

    National Security Office (a.k.a. National Security Agency) of the Government of Eritrea

    -

    Headed by Major General Abraha Kassa

    The National Security Office (a.k.a. National Security Agency) of the Government of Eritrea is headed by Major General Abraha Kassa and is under the supervision of the Office of the President. The National Security Office is organised into six offices, each of which is divided into three sections responsible for intelligence, arrests and interrogations, respectively. The National Security Office is responsible for serious human rights violations in Eritrea, in particular arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances of persons and torture committed by its agents.

    22.3.2021

    ▼B




    ANNEX II

    Websites for information on the competent authorities and address for notifications to the Commission

    BELGIUM

    https://diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/Beleid/beleidsthemas/vrede_en_veiligheid/sancties

    https://diplomatie.belgium.be/fr/politique/themes_politiques/paix_et_securite/sanctions

    https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy_areas/peace_and_security/sanctions

    BULGARIA

    https://www.mfa.bg/en/101

    CZECH REPUBLIC

    www.financnianalytickyurad.cz/mezinarodni-sankce.html

    DENMARK

    http://um.dk/da/Udenrigspolitik/folkeretten/sanktioner/

    GERMANY

    http://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Aussenwirtschaft/aussenwirtschaftsrecht,did=404888.html

    ESTONIA

    http://www.vm.ee/est/kat_622/

    IRELAND

    http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=28519

    GREECE

    http://www.mfa.gr/en/foreign-policy/global-issues/international-sanctions.html

    SPAIN

    http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/en/PoliticaExteriorCooperacion/GlobalizacionOportunidadesRiesgos/Paginas/SancionesInternacionales.aspx

    FRANCE

    http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/autorites-sanctions/

    CROATIA

    http://www.mvep.hr/sankcije

    ITALY

    https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/politica_estera/politica_europea/misure_deroghe

    CYPRUS

    http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/mfa2016.nsf/mfa35_en/mfa35_en?OpenDocument

    LATVIA

    http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/security/4539

    LITHUANIA

    http://www.urm.lt/sanctions

    LUXEMBOURG

    https://maee.gouvernement.lu/fr/directions-du-ministere/affaires-europeennes/mesures-restrictives.html

    HUNGARY

    https://kormany.hu/kulgazdasagi-es-kulugyminiszterium/ensz-eu-szankcios-tajekoztato

    MALTA

    https://foreignandeu.gov.mt/en/Government/SMB/Pages/SMB-Home.aspx

    NETHERLANDS

    https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/internationale-sancties

    AUSTRIA

    http://www.bmeia.gv.at/view.php3?f_id=12750&LNG=en&version=

    POLAND

    https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja

    PORTUGAL

    http://www.portugal.gov.pt/pt/ministerios/mne/quero-saber-mais/sobre-o-ministerio/medidas-restritivas/medidas-restritivas.aspx

    ROMANIA

    http://www.mae.ro/node/1548

    SLOVENIA

    http://www.mzz.gov.si/si/omejevalni_ukrepi

    SLOVAKIA

    https://www.mzv.sk/europske_zalezitosti/europske_politiky-sankcie_eu

    FINLAND

    http://formin.finland.fi/kvyhteistyo/pakotteet

    SWEDEN

    http://www.ud.se/sanktioner

    Address for notifications to the European Commission:

    European Commission

    Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA)

    Rue de Spa 2

    B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

    Email: relex-sanctions@ec.europa.eu

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