Poland may impose further sanctions on Belarus over jailed activist
The Polish government has refused to rule out the imposition of further sanctions on Belarus over an eight-year prison sentence slapped on a prominent Polish minority activist in Belarus, an interior minister has said.
On Friday, the Supreme Court in Minsk rejected an appeal by Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and Polish minority leader, against his sentence.
Two days after Poczobut's sentence was announced in February, Poland closed the vital Bobrowniki crossing with Belarus and followed up with further transport restrictions, saying they would be lifted if Poczobut was released. After the appeal rejection by the Belarusian Supreme Court last Friday, Poland said it will close its border with Belarus to Belarusian and Russian freight vehicles from June 1 until further notice.
Warsaw has also sanctioned 365 members of the Belarusian regime as well as 20 entities and 16 companies linked to Russian capital.
"Poland is a window to the world for Belarus, and Belarus should use this window wisely and rationally," Maciej Wąsik told PAP on Tuesday. "We do not agree to any persecution of Polish activists... We're going to react harder and harder."
According to Wąsik, the sanctions list now includes members of the Belarusian parliament and the judiciary, prosecutors, security officials as well as some sportspeople, sports activists and celebrities.
"They also include Aleksander Lukashenko's son and the people who directly issued the sentence on Andrzej Poczobut as well as representatives of the state services responsible for... the organisation of the inflow of economic migrants from third countries to the EU and Poland," Wąsik said.
He reiterated Poland's demand for the release of Poczobut before any talks about lifting the sanctions could be started.
