Washington - The United States warned Belarus on Tuesday that more sanctions are possible if the government continues arresting and intimidating political dissidents. "As long as the Belarusian authorities are not ready to abide by democratic norms, the United States will continue to maintain and strengthen sanctions on those responsible," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
The United States has already banned US firms from doing business with top Belarussian officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, over crackdowns on political opponents for rigging elections in March 2006. He has been banned from travelling to the United States.
The latest warning from the State Department came after a court in Minsk sentenced dissident Andrei Klimow to two years in a punishment camp for "insulting" Lukashenko in an internet article.
Protestors have also been targeted by the government in recent weeks, the State Department said.
"Belarusians are paying a severe price for exercising the basic rights that are taken for granted in democratic societies," McCormack said.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called Lukashenko's government the "last true dictatorship in Europe."
