Caviar off the menu as EU sanctions target Assads

The European Union has adopted new sanctions against Syria, restricting the export of luxury products and items that could be used for repression, as bloodshed in the country continues.

EU officials will draw up a list of luxury items to restrict, and it could include items such as caviar, cigars, crystal goods, billiards equipment and perfume.

The new restrictions – announced by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg – are designed to target the family of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, in particular his London-born wife Asma.

E-mails she exchanged with her husband, obtained last month by hackers, showed they were buying pop music and luxury goods on the internet during the violence.

A round of sanctions decided in March prevented Asma and the president’s mother and sister from travelling to the EU or shopping with European companies. However, this would not have stopped others from buying European products on their behalf. The e-mails showed she liked Chanel dresses and Louboutin shoes, and also bought jewels and fancy furniture.

Since May last year, the EU has imposed visa bans and asset freezes on more than 100 people responsible for or associated with repression. It has also targeted Syria’s industry, barring EU companies from doing business with some Syrian oil companies.

A small group of unarmed observers has been in Syria for a week to try to halt 13 months of fighting in which more than 9,000 have died. The army killed more than 20 people in Hama yesterday, activists said.

The UN Security Council agreed on Saturday to increase the mission to a 300-strong observer team, part of international mediator Kofi Annan’s plan to halt the killing.