Journalist Andrzej Poczobut Returns to Belarus After Release From Prison
Background and Recent Developments
WARSAW, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut has returned to Belarus on a visit, a Polish newspaper reported on Tuesday, nearly five months after he was freed from a Belarusian prison and transferred to Poland in a prisoner exchange.
Arrest and Imprisonment
Poczobut, a member of Belarus' Polish minority, was arrested in March 2021 and sentenced in 2023 to eight years in prison on charges of inciting ethnic hatred and harming Belarusian national security.
Political Motivation and Prisoner Exchange
Poland said the charges were politically motivated and repeatedly called for his release. Poczobut was freed and transferred to Poland as part of a prisoner exchange in April, but immediately signalled that he wanted to return to Belarus.
Return to Belarus
"On Tuesday morning, Andrzej Poczobut crossed the Polish-Belarusian border and headed to his hometown of Grodno," Gazeta Wyborcza, a Polish newspaper with which he has long cooperated, reported.
Purpose of Visit
"He intends to meet his family and colleagues from the Union of Poles in Belarus. The trip is expected to last a week," it said.
Poczobut's Perspective
Facing Fear
'YOU SHOULDN'T LET FEAR GUIDE YOU'
Asked by the Polish newspaper if he was scared of going back to Belarus, Poczobut said, "I found myself in a situation anyone would fear. I'm scared too. But in life, you shouldn't let fear guide you."
International Recognition and Reactions
Sakharov Prize Award
Poczobut was awarded in absentia the European Parliament's 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, a prestigious human rights award, for his "brave fight for freedom of expression and the democratic future" of Belarus.
Opposition Response
Statement from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Belarusian exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in a statement sent to Reuters, praised Poczobut's decision as "an act of extraordinary courage" and said his return was not a sign of any thaw in Belarus.
"Arrests, criminal cases, searches and intimidation continue across the country," said Tsikhanouskaya, who is considered by Western governments to be the rightful winner of a disputed 2020 election claimed by longtime President Alexander Lukashenko.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, additional reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Gareth Jones)