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In the run-up to next week’s US presidential election, Biden, who is surveyed by top White House host Donald Trump, promised to “significantly extend” sanctions against Lukashenko’s supporters in the event of his victory.
“Although President Trump refuses to speak on their behalf, I continue to support the people of Belarus and their democratic aspirations,” Biden said in a statement.
“I also condemn the appalling human rights abuses committed by the Lukashenko regime,” Biden said.
“No leader who tortures his people can ever claim legitimacy,” he added.
For the third month in a row, there have been massive protests in Belarus over the presidential elections on August 9, which have been declared the winners by Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994. The opposition and western democracies consider these elections to be rigged.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, the release of political prisoners and new elections.
Former presidential candidate Sviatlana Cichanouskaya has issued an “ultimatum” calling for a “general strike” from October 26 if Lukashenko does not meet with the protesters.
On Monday, workers in a chain of factories went on strike after Lukashenko ignored Cichanouskaya’s mandate to resign and end violence against protesters.
Tens of thousands of people take part in Sunday’s demonstrations organized by the Belarusian protest movement.
After the elections, the government cracked down on demonstrations, killing several people, arresting thousands more and displaying horrific detainee reports of violence in prisons.
US Undersecretary of State Stephen Biegun met with Cichanouskaya in Lithuania in August, from where he departed, and the United States, in coordination with the European Union, announced sanctions against senior officials of the Minsk regime.
According to the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Lukashenko on Saturday to release a well-known American political strategist who was arrested in his country before the elections and expressed his support for “the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people.”
But Trump has sparked controversy by listening to autocratic leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko’s main ally abroad.
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