October 21, Pozirk. Poland’s daily Super Express has presented Belarusian dissident journalist and prominent Polish minority activist Andrej Pačobut (Andrzej Poczobut) with its flagship award honoring contributions to the Polish economy and public life.
Pačobut was named the winner of Złoty Laur Super Biznesu 2026 in the Person of the Year category.
He received the award from Belarusian human rights defender Aleś Bialacki (Ales Bialiatski), the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and also a former political prisoner, in a ceremony held in Warsaw on October 20 with Belarusian pro-democracy leader Sviatłana Cichanoŭskaja among honorable guests.
In her speech, Cichanoŭskaja stressed that the release of Pačobut, Bialacki and hundreds of other political prisoners would have been impossible “without Poland’s strong and principled position throughout all these years.”
According to her press office, Cichanoŭskaja expressed hope that Belarus would one day “strong, prosperous, free, and European” like Poland, which “knows what it means to live under a dictatorship, and under the Russian boot.”
Cichanoŭskaja said that Polish companies with “Belarusian roots” generate more than 19 billion zlotys in revenue for Poland annually. “And I believe that in the future, a free Belarus and Poland will become even closer partners — in business, innovation, education, and culture,” she said.
Cichanoŭskaja said that her team would soon open an office in Warsaw, “which will become a political center for a free Belarus.” She noted “enormous support for this initiative” from Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President Karol Nawrocki, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, as well as the Sejm and the Senate.
“Sometimes I feel that Polish politicians disagree on almost everything,” she said. “But when it comes to supporting a free Belarus, they all stand together. And I hope it will always stay this way.”
Andrej Pačobut, known as a contributor to Gazeta Wyborcza, was arrested in March 2021 as part of a crackdown on the unofficial Union of Poles in Belarus. He was given eight years in prison for allegedly inciting hatred and calling for sanctions in a case widely seen as politically motivated. Authorities freed Pačobut on April 28 and deported him to Poland.
Pačobut has repeatedly said that being able to return to Belarus was one of the key conditions of his agreeing to leave the country after his release.
Last month Pačobut travelled to Belarus for a week, where he reportedly visited his home city of Hrodna and met with Polish minority activists. On September 15, the activist left for Poland, defying predictions that he would be re-arrested. He subsequently announced an intention to make a trip to Belarus in December and to return there permanently.
