Forwarded from a regular reader of this blog:
On Dec. 15th the EU added Swiss military analyst Jacques Baud to its infamous sanctions list.
The move is insane of course and needs to be resisted and challenged by the public.
This is a huge scandal as it directly threatens academic research all over Europe. Baud is famous for using almost exclusively Western media sources and established (state) media from Ukraine. To accuse him of some form of (Russian) propaganda is, sorry for the boastful term, the “mother of all lies”. Spread the word…
In a private email German reporter Patrik Baab stated that he tries to put together a protest note now with Germans General Kujat, Admiral Schönbach, Gen. Vad and Swiss Oberst.Ltnt Bosshardt.
I assume more protest notes will follow but those won´t affect anything.
Eventually this highly illegal, or if you prefer illegitimate, sanctions regime has to be brought down through a court.
The incompetence and malicious conduct of these people is simply insulting.
Here Moon of Alabamas´s blog entry earlier today:
“EU Sanctions Swiss Intelligence Expert Jacques Baud”
The official EU statement:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202502572&qid=1765811542533
From an initial quick comment someone put together EU´s guarantees for human rights:
CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION:
Article 11
Freedom of expression and information
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.
2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.
and
Article 17
Right to property
1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss. The use of property may be regulated by law in so far as is necessary for the general interest.
and
Article 21
Non-discrimination
1. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.
***
December 15, 2025 tweet from Pascal Lottaz, Associate Professor for Neutrality Studies at Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law & Hakubi Center (we’ve cross-posted some of his YouTube interviews with various academics, journalists and commentators. – Natylie):
“It is now official. The EU IS sanctioning the retired Swiss Army Col. and previous NATO advisor Jacques Baud who was on Neutrality Studies before. One of the most cool-headed and well-informed analysts out there. Reason: Baud is spreading Russian propaganda, the EU says. It is insane. The EUSSR is real.
EU sanctions are not part of the judicial branch. They are punishments coming straight from the executive arm (Kaja Kallas‘ office is responsible for compiling and proposing them). Sanctions against individuals that have never been found guilty by any court of law should not be possible.
Even worse, Baud is living in an EU country and has now all his assets frozen and a travel ban for the entire Union (Switzerland is not part of the EU).
I was in touch with Baud yesterday and he is currently assessing the legal implications on him:
“Yes, I have been sanctioned for ‚Russian propaganda‘. The fact I never use Russian material for my books, but exclusively Ukrainian and Western information and that I consequently refused invitations from Russian media, I am still a “Russian propagandist”!
As stated in my books, my work is not about who is good and who is bad, but about how bad media reflect the realities on the ground. I wanted to show that even without Russian information you can have a better understanding of the conflict. The idea is that the way you understand a crisis defines the way to solve it!
I didn’t realize how right I was.“
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Yamb?ysclid=mjahl8gjfj144721406
IHO France likely had a big part in this as Baud covered Russia and France interactions, including in Africa, as they’ve gone after Nathalie Yamb on exposing France colonization abuse in Africa.
On Dec.15th I was interested in what Baud had to say about recent developments. so I searched his name on YT and top of the page was a short titled “Jacques Baud sanctioned by Brussels for pro-Russian propaganda!” but it was in french. I verified it immediately.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BGI6YBzD_Qc
Immediately I posted a few comments about it on a few YT channels to get the news out there. I have a list over over geopolitical 50 analysts who I trust implicitly to bring the facts and above all, to not lie, even if I think their analyses are off. Jacques Baud is at the top of the list. His sanctioning is surprising because of his resume and high profile, and is a strong signal that the EU considers itself to be at war with Russia NOW.
More individuals and YT channels will be censored. I hope people are making copies of the entire channels of Neutrality Studies, Dialogiue Works, Daniel Davis Deep Dive, Syriana Analysis, and many others. It seems obvious that these channels will be taken down suddenly and in the not too distant future, even if people like Pascal and Nima are not sanctioned themselves.
The question is whether or not the Swiss gov’t will go to bat for Baud. I doubt it.
Interestingly, Christoforou discussed this yesterday and mentioned Xavier Moreau who I had no knowledge of. Ditto Diana Panchenko. Now I do, and I’ve already watched a translated interview with Moreau by a French podcaster, which goes to show how counter-productive censorship is.
The truth will out as the Bard said.