China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S.’s Nov. 9 decision to sanction four more Hong Kong officials (see 2011090044), saying the U.S. has “blatantly meddled in Hong Kong affairs.” Hong Kong “is part of China and its affairs are entirely China's internal affairs which allow no foreign interference,” a ministry spokesperson said during a Nov. 10 news conference, according to a transcript the ministry released. “China urges the US side to immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs, immediately lift the so-called sanctions and refrain from going further down the wrong path.” The last time the U.S. designated Hong Kong officials, China retaliated by sanctioning U.S. lawmakers and other U.S. citizens (see 2008100023).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 17 Syrian and Lebanese people and entities for operating in Syria’s oil industry and supporting the Bashar al-Assad’s regime oil production network, according to a Nov. 9 press release. The sanctions target Syrian military officials, members of Syria’s Parliament, Syrian government entities and both Syrian and Lebanese people trying to “revive Syria’s deteriorating petroleum industry,” OFAC said.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended and added sanctions entries related to Belarus, Syria and Turkey. OFSI on Nov. 9 amended two entries under its Turkey sanctions regime: Mehmet Ferruh Akalin and Ali Coscun Namoglu. The U.K. also added 12 government officials and amended three entries under its Belarus sanctions regime, and added eight entries to its Syria regime.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a member of Lebanon’s Parliament for corruption, the agency said Nov. 6. The designation targets Gibran Bassil, president of the Free Patriotic Movement political party. OFAC said Bassil has held several “high-level” positions in the Lebanese government and has been “marked by significant allegations of corruption.”
The European Union renewed its sanctions regime against Turkey’s illegal drilling activities in the Mediterranean for one year, a Nov. 6 notice said. The regime, extended until Nov. 12, 2021, currently targets two people.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation renewed two designations under its terrorism and terrorist financing sanctions list, a Nov. 4 notice said. The U.K. renewed sanctions against the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
The State Department removed certain sanctions from an Islamic organization in western China, it said in a notice released Nov 4. The move revoked the designation of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement as a “terrorist organization” under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The United Kingdom Nov. 3 published guidance for its sanctions regimes covering Nicaragua, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lebanon, and for its cyber-related designations. The guidance documents will help companies comply with the sanctions regimes after the U.K. leaves the European Union Jan. 1, 2021, the U.K. said, and covers prohibitions and requirements in each set of regulations.
More than 70 countries voiced their support for the International Criminal Court, criticizing U.S. sanctions against the body. They are “undeterred by any measures or threats against the Court, its officials and those cooperating with it,” the nations said in a Nov. 2 statement. Signers include France, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany.
The United Kingdom’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended two entries on its Burundi sanctions list, it said Nov. 2. The revisions update identifying information for government officials Godefroid Bizimana and Gervais Ndirakobuca.