Polish president says Warsaw sees signals from Minsk in Poczobut’s case

August 25, Pozirk. Warsaw perceives some signals from Minsk regarding the release of Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pačobut), a journalist and Polish minority activist imprisoned in Belarus on charges widely seen as politically motivated, Polish President Andrzej Duda told Kanał Zero.
“I think we are much closer [to Poczobut’s release]. . . We are working very hard, and I see signs of change on the other side,” he noted.
Duda linked his visit to China two months ago to a “thaw” in relations with Minsk as recent Alaksandar Łukasenka’s decision to pardon dozens of Belarusian political prisoners may be a part of a dialogue encouraged by Beijing.
Warsaw decided against blocking the prisoner swap between the United States and Russia earlier this month to avoid issues in Poczobut’s case, Duda added.
“I don’t know whether he would have wanted to be exchanged for spies without the possibility to return to Belarus and to be with his family,” the politician noted. Poczobut was arrested illegally and has the right to stay in Belarus as a free man, he stressed.
Gazeta Wyborcza contributor Pačobut, also known as an activist of the unregistered Union of Poles in Belarus (UPB), has been in custody since March 2021.
In February 2023, authorities sentenced him to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions that harmed the national security of Belarus.
In response, Poland closed the Bobrowniki checkpoint at the shared border with Belarus, linking its reopening to Poczobut’s release.
In 2022, the activist refused to petition Łukašenka for pardon. The Committee for State Security (KGB) put him on the list of “persons involved in terrorist activities.”

Polish security chief: Poczobut’s name was mentioned during negotiations on prisoner exchange
- EconomyBelarus’ mobile networks not to raise rates until the end of 2025The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsEU and Belarusian pro-democracy delegates meet in Brussels to discuss support mechanismsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecuritySecurity council head reports to Łukašenka on drones diverted to Belarus by RussiaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsProsecutor’s commission approved 30 requests for return to Belarus, official claimsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyGreek Catholics hit hardest by re-registration in BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyLithuania set to limit fuel trucks carry from BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy, SecurityBelarus boosts gasoline exports to Russia amid wartime fuel shortagesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsProsecutors forward to court case against four exiled Honest People membersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsLithuanian PM: Vilnius to keep protecting CichanoŭskajaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk envoy blames Belarus’ western neighbors for migrant deathsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Economy, PoliticsWarsaw sanctions two Polish companies, three Belarusians, citing Russia sanctions evasionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsIrregular border crossings from Belarus into Poland rising since October 1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: auditor convicted twice, pressure on journalists continuesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja discusses political prisoners with French foreign ministerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyBelarusian police accused of torturing former Afghan officerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsPoczobut held in penal colony’s isolation wing amid health declineThe material is available only to POZIRK+