„I intend to support the activities of the Union of Poles in Belarus,“ said A. Poczobut during a meeting in Olsztyn, northeastern Poland, at the event „Campus – Poland’s Future“.
„These people need my presence together with them. (…) They constantly ask me when I will come,“ he said, adding that he is aware of the consequences he may face.
The journalist stated that he wants to expand the space for freedom of speech in Belarus.
„I hope I will succeed,“ he said, adding that no one can guarantee what Belarusian officials will do.
Belarusian officials detained A. Poczobut on March 25, 2021. In February 2023, he was sentenced to eight years in a maximum-security penal colony on charges related to his reports and activities promoting Polish identity – Warsaw called these charges politically motivated.
The long-time correspondent for the Polish media, who reported on Belarus, had previously been detained multiple times and prosecuted for criticizing Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
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Human rights organizations recognized him as a political prisoner, and Polish officials repeatedly called for his release.
In April, during prisoner exchanges involving several countries, Belarus released A. Poczobut, and Warsaw released detained Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who was wanted by Ukraine.
On May 3, President Karolis Nawrockis awarded A. Poczobut the Order of the White Eagle – the highest state decoration – for defending the rights of the Polish minority in Belarus and his firm stance in the face of the authoritarian regime.
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