{"id":202866,"date":"2026-09-08T17:37:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T14:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/202866\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T17:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T14:37:43","slug":"opposition-leader-pacobuts-return-does-not-mean-end-to-reprisals","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/202866\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition leader: Pa\u010dobut\u2019s return does not mean end to reprisals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Cichano\u016dskaja's press office)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

September 8, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja has urged exiled Belarusians not to follow journalist and Polish minority activist Andrej Pa\u010dobut\u2019s example by returning to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u010dobut\u2019s return does not mean that reprisals have ended, she said, stressing that politically-motivated persecution remains in full swing, with continuing arrests, criminal charges and pressure on families. \u201cReturning home may still be dangerous for those at risk of persecution,\u201d the politician noted in a Telegram post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dskaja also said she was pleased that Pa\u010dubut could return home. \u201cSometimes, even in a dictatorship, a person can carve out a small space of freedom for themselves, thanks to their own resilience and international support,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone familiar with Pa\u010dobut\u2019s story understands how much courage went into the decision, she added. \u201cPeople like him inspire us with their resilience and heroism,\u201d the politician said. \u201cThe most important thing now is that he is safe, and I hope he will be able to leave just as freely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier today, Poland\u2019s\u00a0Gazeta Wyborcza<\/em> reported on Pa\u010dobut\u2019s temporary return to Belarus. The activist is now in Hrodna and intends to stay in the country for one week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several days ago, Pa\u010dobut met Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. In an interview published by Polish news agency\u00a0PAP<\/em>\u00a0on September 2, the former political prisoner, who was released and deported to Poland at the end of April, said that he had asked for a papal blessing for Belarus, for his family and for the Union of Poles in Belarus during a brief conversation following the general audience at the Vatican.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u010dobut, known as a contributor to Gazeta Wyborcza<\/em>, was arrested in March 2021 on what was widely believed trumped-up charges. In February 2023, Judge D\u017amitryj Bubien\u010dyk of the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced him to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions. Human rights defenders recognized him as a political prisoner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities freed Pa\u010dobut on April 28 and deported him to Poland. The release came after John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski in Warsaw on April 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 3, Nawrocki presented Pa\u010dobut with Poland\u2019s highest state award, the Order of the White Eagle. In 2025, the European Parliament granted him the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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