Switzerland has extended sanctions against Lukashenko supporters

• 30.04.2012, 14:46

Switzerland has tightened sanctions against Belarusian officials and businessmen related to the repression.

Switzerland has tightened sanctions against Belarus, adding 68 names to the list of people prevented from travelling to Switzerland or whose assets have been frozen, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said on Monday.

Judges and prosecutors are the main target of the latest round of sanctions, which are in line with sanctions adopted by the European Union in February and March. A total of 243 people are now subject to Swiss sanctions targeting Belarus.

In addition, 32 companies, most of which are associated with Belarusian oligarch Vladimir Peftiev, have also been added to the list of sanctions. Peftiev is a close associate of President Alexander Lukashenko and a key financier of the regime.

Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus since 1994. His government has been criticised for severe breaches of human rights and the failure to hold free and fair elections.