The Baltic EU states added the Belarusian ministers of sports and information to a sanctions blacklist on Friday in response to government repression of pro-democracy protests. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia said they had imposed travel bans on a total of 28 Belarusian officials, adding them to a sanctions list already containing President Alexander Lukashenko and over a hundred other officials. "The situation does not change and we must keep the pressure," Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told AFP on Friday. He said sports minister Sergey Kovalchuk had been blacklisted for putting pressure on athletes who have spoken out against Lukashenko. Human rights activists said dozens of Belarusian athletes have been arrested and banned from training in Belarus. Some of them have found refuge in Lithuania, while Latvia is campaigning for the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship, which it is due to co-host with Belarus, to be moved from Minsk to punish Lukashenko, a keen hockey player. The blacklist also includes information minister Igor Lutsky who is blamed for internet shutdowns to prevent protests, Linkevicius said. Linkevicius said the Baltic blacklist now includes over 150 Belarusian officials, while the EU as a whole has imposed travel bans and asset freezes on 59 people. EU ministers said Thursday they could expand the sanctions to include firms and business people seen as backing Lukashenko's regime. vab/dt/erc