{"id":185537,"date":"2026-04-29T13:27:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T10:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/185537\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:52:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:52:29","slug":"opposition-politician-pacobuts-release-was-prisoner-swap-not-minsks-goodwill","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/185537\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition politician: Pa\u010dobut\u2019s release was prisoner swap not Minsk\u2019s goodwill \u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 29, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The release of journalist Andrej Pa\u010dobut yesterday was not an act of goodwill on the part of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, but a prisoner swap in a Cold War style, opposition politician Franak Via\u010dorka told Pozirk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politically-motivated reprisals and arrests in Belarus continue unabated, which does not signal any policy shift on \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s part, noted Via\u010dorka, who serves as an aide to Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The politician acknowledged sustained efforts by Poland and the United States in securing Pa\u010dobut\u2019s liberation. \u201cThey worked for a very long time to secure Andrej\u2019s release. It could have happened as early as last year, but better late than never. The most important thing is that Andrej is now free and able to reunite with his family and friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must keep fighting for the release of all political prisoners, so that Andrej and others can one day return to Belarus,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the representatives of the exiled Belarusian opposition did not participate directly in the negotiations, Cichano\u016dskaja discussed the situation regarding Pa\u010dobut and other jailed dissidents with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Via\u010dorka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-democracy forces remain in contact with the US administration, he added. Washington “is doing very important work by getting our people out. It is doing this for us. Our task is to maintain its interest in political prisoners, to keep the issue on the agenda so that Belarus is not forgotten,\u201d the politician stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 28, Minsk freed and handed over to Poland journalist and Polish minority activist Andrej Pa\u010dobut (Andrzej Poczobut). His release came after John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, met Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski in Warsaw on April 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk also liberated Polish monk Grzegorz Gawe\u0142 and Polish national Tomasz Bieroza as part of a five-for-five exchange at the Belarusian-Polish border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland released Aleksandr Butyagin, a Russian archaeologist arrested at Ukraine\u2019s request over excavations in annexed Crimea. Moldova released Alexandru B\u0103lan, a former deputy chief of Moldova\u2019s Intelligence and Security Service, who had been sentenced earlier this month to 18 months in prison for allegedly leaking secret information related to Romania to officers of Belarus\u2019 KGB. Poland also handed over Nina Popova, a Russian citizen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland additionally freed U\u0142adzis\u0142a\u016d Nadziejka, a former member of Paspalitaje Ru\u0161enne, an organization that provided weapons-handling and fitness training for exiled Belarusians. He was arrested in Bia\u0142ystok and accused by Polish investigators of spying for Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The identities of the remaining exchanged individuals have not been disclosed. The Polish prime minister described one of them as a Belarusian who had cooperated with Poland\u2019s security services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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