Dec 2 (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on Friday on three Syrian oil firms -- state-owned Syria Trading Oil (Sytrol), General Petroleum Corporation (GPC), and Al Furat Petroleum Company -- stepping up pressure on Damascus over a crackdown on protests.
Here are some details of sanctions imposed so far:
* EUROPEAN SANCTIONS: - The EU put 13 Syrian officials on its sanctions list on May 17. The measures, including asset freezes and travel bans, are part of a package of sanctions, including an arms embargo.
- The president's brother, Maher al-Assad, who commands the Republican Guard and is the second most powerful man in Syria; Ali Mamlouk, head of the General Intelligence Service; and Adulfattah Qudsiyeh, who runs military intelligence were on that list. The next day, Switzerland said it would impose travel bans on 13 Syrian officials and freeze any of their assets.
- On May 23, the EU imposed sanctions on Assad himself, along with nine other senior Syrian officials. The next day, Switzerland followed suit.
- The EU published new sanctions on June 24 to include the three commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard: Major-General Qasem Soleimani, Brigadier Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari of the Revolutionary Guard, and the Guard's deputy commander for intelligence, Hossein Taeb who are accused of supporting Syrian repression of protests. It included business entities Bena Properties, the Al Mashreq Investment Fund, the Hamsho International Group and the Military Housing Establishment, all accused of funding Assad's government.
- Five new Syrians were added on Aug. 2, including Defence Minister Ali Habib, Major-General Tawfiq Younes, head of internal security for the intelligence directorate, and Mohammad Mufleh, head of military intelligence in Hama.
- EU governments agreed on Sept. 2 to ban imports of Syrian oil and extended sanctions to seven new Syrian individuals and entities. The EU ban on European firms from making new investments in Syria's oil industry took effect on Sept. 24. EU sanctions allowed imports of Syrian oil until Nov. 15 under contracts signed before Sept. 2.
- The European Union imposed new sanctions on Sept. 24 on Syriatel, Syria's main mobile phone operator and included a Addounia TV, as well as three construction and investment firms linked to the Syrian military.
- On Nov. 15, it added 18 more to its list of people sanctioned. This brought the number of people targeted to 74.
- On Dec. 1, the EU agreed new sanctions on Syria's oil and financial sectors. Companies revealed on Friday included Sytrol and General Petroleum Corporation. They also added 12 persons and 11 institutions and firms to an asset freeze and asset ban list, and prohibited financial support for trade and loans to the government. New sanctions also banned the export of equipment for the Syrian oil and gas industry as well as technical equipment used for surveillance.
- For more details on EU sanctions against Syria click on http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:319:0008:0010:EN:PDF
* TURKEY: - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Nov 30 all relations with Syria's central bank were being suspended and that a cooperation agreement with Syria was being halted, as well as all financial credit dealings. Turkey has also frozen Syrian government assets and will block delivery of all weapons and military equipment to Damascus as part of measures aimed at ending a crackdown on protesters.
* ARAB LEAGUE: - Arab states agreed on Nov. 27 to impose economic measures, the toughest against a member state, that included a travel ban on top Syrian officials and a freeze on assets related to the government.
- All dealings with the Syrian central bank and the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria were suspended. Financial dealings and trade agreements with Syria were halted.
-- The Arab League proposed on Dec. 1 a travel ban on 17 Syrians from Assad's inner circle and intelligence agencies. The names will be presented to Arab ministers, who are handling issues regarding Syria, at a Dec. 3 meeting in Doha.
* U.S. SANCTIONS: - The United States imposed sanctions on Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of Assad on April 29, in Washington's first concrete steps in response to the crackdown.
- The sanctions, which included asset freezes and bans on U.S. business dealings, were built on broader U.S. measures against Syria in place since 2004. On May 18, Washington added Assad to the sanctions. Syria's vice president, prime minister, interior and defence ministers, the head of military intelligence and director of the political security branch.
- On June 29, the Treasury named the four major branches of Syria's security forces and said any assets that may have been subject to U.S. jurisdiction would be frozen and that Americans were barred from any dealing with them. The Treasury also named Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, the chief of Iran's Law Enforcement Forces, and a deputy, Ahmad-Reza Radan, for aiding Syria. It said Radan travelled to Damascus in April to offer expertise on cracking down on protests.
- The Treasury expanded sanctions against Assad's government on Aug. 10, adding the Commercial Bank of Syria, a Syrian state-owned institution and its Lebanon-based subsidiary, Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, to a blacklist of companies slapped with asset freezes. The Treasury also designated Syriatel under a separate presidential order.
- On Aug. 18, the U.S. implemented new sanctions including a freeze on all Syrian assets in the United States or held under U.S. jurisdiction. The sanctions also bar U.S. citizens from making new investments in or exporting services to Syria as well as banning U.S. imports of Syrian petroleum products. More companies were added to the blacklist including SYTROL and the Syrian Petroleum Company.
- On Dec 1 the U.S. Treasury blacklisted Muhammad Makhluf, an uncle of Assad, and Aus Asla, described as a general in the military. It also named the Military Housing Establishment as a government-controlled company that finances the regime and Real Estate Bank, said to handle borrowing for the government.
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(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
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