Poland to seek tougher sanctions on Belarus – President Duda

June 20, BPN. Warsaw will use all international platforms to fight for the release of all Belarusian political prisoners and advocate for tougher sanctions against Belarus, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda told Polish diplomats on June 19.

Poland is actively involved in supporting civil society in Belarus and creating conditions for the development of democracy and political dialogue, he said. “It is in our interest to promote and strengthen the Belarusian diaspora and independent circles in other countries,” his office tweeted.

As of June 20, human rights groups identified at least 1,495 political prisoners in Belarus, including Andrej Pačobut (Andrzej Poczobut), a journalist and Polish minority activist.

Poland has consistently criticized Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime, assuming a tougher stance in February after Pačobut had been sentenced to eight years in prison in a case widely seen as politically motivated. Warsaw closed a major checkpoint, Bobrowniki, making the reopening conditional on Pačobut’s release. Belarus, for its turn, imposed restrictions on entry of Polish trucks and tractors.

The Belarusian Supreme Court upheld the sentence against Pačobut in late May. In response, Poland imposed sanctions on 365 Belarusians and several businesses and banned the entry of trucks, trailers and semi-trailers registered in Belarus and Russia until further notice.