The President of the Union of Poles in Belarus, Andżelika Borys, has been released from prison – reported journalist Tadeusz Giczan and channel Nexta. Andżelika Boris spent more than a year in the Belarusian prison. She was arrested on March 23, 2021.
Andżelika Borys, a leader of the Polish minority in Belarus has been released. She spent more than a year behind bars, she was arrested on 23 March 2021. pic.twitter.com/rpb5m25PmB
— Tadeusz Giczan ?? (@TadeuszGiczan) March 25, 2022
Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said that Borys felt quite comfortable and needed peace and relaxation then
Przydacz added that Boris was in Belarus at that time and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains in contact with her.
Asked if anyone knows what is happening to Andrzej Poczobut, he replied: “As Polish diplomacy, we are also trying to free the editor from prison. Poczobut is a top priority for us.”
Andżelika Borys was arrested on 23 March last year in Grodno, first for organising a cultural event called Grodzieńskie Kaziuki by the authorities recognised as “illegal.” She was sentenced to 15 days in prison but was not released because the authorities quickly filed charges against her under Article 130 p.3 of the Belarusian Criminal Code.
She was accused of inciting national and religious hatred and of inciting discord on the basis of national, religious and linguistic affiliation. According to the prosecutor’s office, Borys worked for the “rehabilitation of Nazism.” This Article imposes a prison sentence of between 5 and 12 years in Belarus.
Two days after Borys’ arrest, the militia visited the union’s activist and journalist Andrzej Poczobut, as well as Irena Biernacka and Marina Tiszkowska from the union’s regional offices. Anna Paniszewa, an activist of the Polish organisation from Brest, was also included in the criminal proceedings and was arrested on 12 March.