EU names 17 new Belarus regime associates sanctioned

(BRUSSELS) - The EU on Tuesday added 17 names to a list of individuals barred from entering its territory, sanctioning judges and prosecutors in cases involving opposition leaders charged with mass rioting.

The European Union's Official Journal, the record of law for the 27-state bloc, listed the names connected to controversially re-elected President Alexander Lukashenko, taking the total number of those hit with travel bans and EU asset freezes to 175.

Citing "the gravity of the situation in Belarus," among those hit were former interior ministers Vladimir Naumov and Yuri Sivakov as well as the head of the interior ministry's special forces unit, Dmitry Pavlichenko, and the head of the central electoral commission, Lidia Yermoshina.

Belarus has retaliated to Western sanctions and criticism by banning European and American officials from entering the country.

Minsk pressed on Tuesday with trials against people who took part in post-election protests on December 19.

Forty-three opposition figures have so far been charged, including five former presidential candidates who ran against Lukashenko, who has been in power 16 years. Seven people convicted of mass rioting have been sentenced to up to four years in jail.

3078th FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council (provisional version) - Brussels, 21 March 2011