Polish government sanctions 365 Belarusians

The interior minister has said Poland has sanctioned 365 Belarusian citizens and frozen the financial and economic assets of 20 individuals and 16 other people linked to Russian capital after the Belarusian top court upheld a prison sentence on a Polish minority leader.

Under the new sanctions, the number of Belarusians will be barred from entering the Schengen area.

Mariusz Kaminski had announced on Friday the government's decision to sanction the people after the Belarusian Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Andrzej Poczobut against an eight-year prison sentence.

A well-known journalist in Belarus and a long-term correspondent for Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, 49-year-old Poczobut was also an activist for the Union of Poles in Belarus ZPB, a Polish minority organisation that has been de-legalised by the Belarusian authorities.

In February, he was found guilty of inciting hostility and hatred on national, religious and social grounds. Poland responded by demanding his unconditional release, while accusing the Belarusian regime of fabricating the charges. Other countries have joined Poland as a political prisoner, pointing to his freedom as a globally recognised prisoner.

Poczobut's conviction has tarnished Warsaw's relationship with Minsk and resulted in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between the two countries, as well as the imposition of border restrictions.

The Belarusians on the list are MPs from both houses of parliament, who had never been subject to any bans and Viktor Lukashenko, the president's eldest son, who is currently the head of the Belarusian Olympic Committee, who has been an advisor on security issues in the past.

The list includes the most recognized state media journalists and propagandists, as well as Natalia Ejsmant, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's spokeswoman.

In addition, sanctions were also imposed on Andrei Shved, the head of the State Security Committee of KGB, the Prosecutor General, and several dozen judges who were responsible for issuing political rulings.

Pavel Latushko, a former Belarusian ambassador to Poland, said that the decision of the Polish government to extend the sanctions list against Lukashenko's regime and companies associated with Belarusian and Russian capital was very important.

In addition, Poland has set an example for other countries and the EU, which for the past year has been unable to decide on a sanctions package.

This is a very strong message for the dictator's regime that he will be held accountable for crimes committed against Belarusian citizens and representatives of the Polish minority living in Belarus.