{"id":208328,"date":"2026-10-21T13:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T10:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/208328\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T13:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T10:44:10","slug":"polish-newspaper-names-pacobut-person-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/208328\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish newspaper names Pa\u010dobut Person of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (superbiz.se.pl)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

October 21, <\/strong>Pozirk.<\/strong><\/em> Poland’s daily Super Express<\/em> has presented Belarusian dissident journalist and prominent Polish minority activist Andrej Pa\u010dobut (Andrzej Poczobut) with its flagship award honoring contributions to the Polish economy and public life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u010dobut was named the winner of Z\u0142oty Laur Super Biznesu 2026 in the Person of the Year category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He received the award from Belarusian human rights defender Ale\u015b 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 Sviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja among honorable guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her speech, Cichano\u016dskaja stressed that the release of Pa\u010dobut, Bialacki and hundreds of other political prisoners would have been impossible \u201cwithout Poland\u2019s strong and principled position throughout all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her press office, Cichano\u016dskaja expressed hope that Belarus would one day \u201cstrong, prosperous, free, and European\u201d like Poland, which \u201cknows what it means to live under a dictatorship, and under the Russian boot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dskaja said that Polish companies with \u201cBelarusian roots\u201d generate more than 19 billion zlotys in revenue for Poland annually. \u201cAnd I believe that in the future, a free Belarus and Poland will become even closer partners \u2014 in business, innovation, education, and culture,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cichano\u016dskaja said that her team would soon open an office in Warsaw, \u201cwhich will become a political center for a free Belarus.\u201d She noted \u201cenormous support for this initiative\u201d from Poland\u2019s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President Karol Nawrocki, Foreign Minister Rados\u0142aw Sikorski, as well as the Sejm and the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes I feel that Polish politicians disagree on almost everything,\u201d she said. \u201cBut when it comes to supporting a free Belarus, they all stand together. And I hope it will always stay this way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrej Pa\u010dobut, known as a contributor to Gazeta Wyborcza<\/em>, 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 Pa\u010dobut on April 28 and deported him to Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u010dobut 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month Pa\u010dobut 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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