Poland sanctions 365 Belarusian citizens

MINSK. May 29 (Interfax) - Poland's minister of interior affairs and administration has included 365 Belarusian citizens in the list of persons whose presence in Polish territory is undesirable, the Polish ministry's press service said on Monday.

"These people will also be banned from entering the Schengen zone. Their funds and economic resources will be frozen. Moreover, the minister also ordered a freeze on the funds and economic resources of 20 organizations and 16 individuals linked mostly to Russian capital," the press service said.

The sanctions list includes 159 MPs, 76 judges, seven prosecutors, 32 representatives of local administrations, 28 officers of law enforcement agencies, 23 representatives of Belarusian state media outlets, 24 athletes and sport functionaries, etc., it said.

"Entrepreneurs linked to Russian capital have also been added to the list. They are 15 citizens of the Russian Federation and one Belarusian citizen. Twenty businesses (19 linked to Russia and one to Belarus) are also targeted by these sanctions," it said.

The names of individuals and organizations designated by Poland have not been disclosed yet.

The sanctions are a response to the sentencing of Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist of the Polonia international public television channel of Poland and an activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus, the press service said.

It was reported earlier that Poczobut's sentence had entered into force.

A Belarusian court sentenced Poczobut to eight years in a high-security penitentiary for calling for actions harmful to Belarusian national security and inciting enmity. He has been in custody since March 25, 2021.

Poland indefinitely suspended operations at the Bobrowniki-Berestovica border checkpoint in February. The Polish authorities linked the decision to Poczobut's sentencing.