The Swiss colonel, military analyst, and former intelligence officer Jacques Bo has been on the European Union’s sanctions list since December 2025 and has since been living under severe restrictions in Brussels. His accounts have been frozen, his assets confiscated, and his freedom of movement significantly limited, leaving him effectively without income and dependent on help from neighbors. Assistance from third parties may carry criminal consequences. A delegation of around 20 Swiss citizens traveled to Brussels in March 2026 to symbolically deliver food to him and protest the measures. They criticize the sanctions as politically motivated and view them as a violation of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression. The response of Swiss authorities is also seen as hesitant, as diplomatic options were, in their view, not fully utilized.
Jacques Bo looks back on a decades-long international career in military and humanitarian missions, including in Afghanistan, Angola, Rwanda, Darfur, as well as within the framework of NATO and the United Nations. He participated in peacekeeping missions, developed concepts for demining and peacekeeping, and closely studied conflicts such as the one in Ukraine. According to his own account, his analyses are based on firsthand experience and a neutral consideration of both sides of a conflict. He maintains that sustainable solutions are only possible through the inclusion of all parties and criticizes what he sees as a growing departure from neutrality, including by Switzerland.
Substantively, Bo sharply criticizes Western politics, media, and international organizations. He regards the sanctions against him as a political instrument lacking a basis in the rule of law and sees them as an attempt to silence critical voices. At the same time, he accuses the European Union of one-sided moral policy, double standards in dealing with international conflicts, and an increasing erosion of democratic principles. His assessments of the war in Ukraine emphasize its background and escalation dynamics since 2014, as well as missed diplomatic opportunities.