This is the fifth consecutive Christmas that Andrzej Poczobut has spent behind bars. A hero of both the Polish and Belarusian nations, a recipient of the Order of the White Eagle, an activist and publicist, he has been unlawfully detained by the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus for 57 months. He has never bowed to the dictator in Minsk, never asked for mercy, and never agreed to leave the country, something that would automatically entail the continuation of the unlawful sentence.
They gather here on the 21st day of every month. In December, they met for the 57th time. That is exactly how many months have passed since Andrzej Poczobut’s unlawful arrest in Belarus. Residents of Białystok, representatives of circles associated with the Belarusian opposition, and all those who, through this silent protest, demand the release of the hero as well as other political prisoners held by Lukashenka. They declare that they will continue to gather in front of the monument to Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko on St. John Paul II Square in Białystok for as long as necessary. They unanimously stress that memory and solidarity are stronger than fear, and fear is the main weapon of the Belarusian regime. Andrzej Poczobut is one of approximately 1,200 political prisoners, officially so, because the scale of repression in Belarus continues to set new records, as does the number of those detained and arrested on politically motivated charges.
Absurd Charges
On 21 March 2021, Andrzej Poczobut was once again arrested by Lukashenka’s forces, as he had been several times in recent years. The journalist and publicist, a member of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB), which had already been outlawed by Minsk years earlier, was charged with absurd accusations, including incitement to hatred and the rehabilitation of Nazism. Absurd, yet carefully calculated by the regime, which sought in this way to humiliate a man whose entire life had been guided by truth, historical memory, and the struggle for democracy.
Poczobut’s trial began on 16 January 2023 and lasted less than a month. On 8 February, a puppet court of Lukashenka’s regime, judges in robes, sentenced the Polish activist to eight years in a high-security penal colony. That the sentence would be draconian was already clear at the moment the presiding judge was announced. It was Dzmitry Bubenchik – one of Lukashenka’s most loyal servants, known for trampling human rights and handing down severe sentences. It was also he who decided to classify the trial and close it to the public.
The day after the disgraceful verdict, Poland decided to close the Polish-Belarusian border crossing at Bobrowniki. A month later, Poczobut filed an appeal. The figures in robes, hardly deserving to be called judges, rejected the appeal on 26 May of the same year. In June, Poczobut was transferred from the facility in Vitebsk to a penal colony in Novopolotsk, considered one of the harshest such institutions in Belarus.
Hell on Earth
From that moment on, Poczobut was repeatedly sent to the punishment cell, known as a “prison within a prison.” He was thrown into solitary confinement and into cells where inmates sentenced to death were held. In recent months, alarming information about Poczobut’s condition has also reached Poland from behind prison bars. His health has reportedly deteriorated significantly. He has repeatedly been denied access to medication, food parcels, and contact with his lawyer. Human rights defenders and the Belarusian opposition warn that Poczobut is being systematically subjected to psychological and physical torture. In the autumn, reports emerged that the Pole had once again been placed in an isolation cell, where he is to remain until February 2026.
“The regime is capable of pushing any prisoner to the brink of life and death. An inmate can lose as much as 30-40 kilograms and be extremely mentally exhausted, only for doctors to be allowed in later, for conditions or food to be improved – colloquially speaking, to ‘put him back on his feet.’ All of this just so that no one can accuse Lukashenka of using torture in Belarusian prisons,”
stresses Aleś Zarembiuk, a Belarusian opposition activist and head of the Belarusian House Foundation in Warsaw.
A Man of Unbreakable Principles
“Andrzej Poczobut is one of the most important symbols of the steadfastness of Poles in Belarus and of the struggle for freedom of speech in the face of the dictatorial regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. He is detained solely for political reasons, on alleged charges of “incitement to hatred” and “acting to the detriment of the state,” which in reality amount to punishment for criticizing the regime and refusing to accept human rights violations,”
emphasizes Michał Dworczyk, a Law and Justice (PiS) MEP, in an interview with the portal Niezależna.pl.
It is worth recalling that ahead of the so-called presidential elections in January of this year in Belarus, as well as over recent months, Alyaksandr Lukashenka released groups of several dozen prisoners at a time. Andrzej Poczobut was not among them. The explanation is very simple. Release from detention or a labor camp is always linked to writing a letter to Lukashenka requesting a pardon. One must humble oneself before the dictator, thereby automatically admitting guilt to the charges brought. This is often accompanied by a declaration to leave Belarus upon regaining freedom. The interlocutors unanimously stress that Andrzej Poczobut will never agree to sign a loyalty statement or be expelled from his country.
“Andrzej Poczobut did not remain in Belarus – something that ultimately led to his imprisonment – only to now write loyalty letters to the Belarusian dictator asking for a pardon. He will never do that. It is his sovereign decision. It is also confirmation that defending one’s values is worth any price, even the highest,”
emphasizes Zarembiuk.
This is also confirmed by Michał Dworczyk.
“Despite offers of a pardon on condition that he leave the country or submit a request for mercy, Poczobut remained faithful to his convictions, did not bend, and refused. He is a man of iron principles and beliefs,”
he notes.
The Highest Decoration
In recognition of his unwavering stance and his struggle for human rights and Polish identity in Belarus, on 11 November of this year, National Independence Day, by decision of the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, Andrzej Poczobut was awarded Poland’s highest decoration – the Order of the White Eagle. In the opinion of many, no one in recent years has deserved this distinction as much as Poczobut.
“By continuing to hold Andrzej Poczobut in a labor camp, the Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka wants to extract the highest possible price. He is perfectly aware of how important a figure Poczobut is for both the Polish and Belarusian nations,”
says Pavel Latushko, one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition and a former ambassador.
Meanwhile, Andrzej Poczobut was also awarded the Sakharov Prize. “This is the EU’s highest distinction in the field of human rights, highlighting his tireless struggle for democracy and freedom of expression,” recalls MEP Dworczyk.
On behalf of her father, the award was accepted by his daughter, Jana. “Hope is the only thing that has not been taken away from us,” she emphasized while speaking in the European Parliament building.
Poczobut’s Life in Lukashenka’s Hands
Whether and when Andrzej Poczobut will be released depends solely on Alyaksandr Lukashenka. That the hero of Poland and Belarus will not humble himself before the dictator is certain. The interlocutors unanimously emphasize, however, that Poczobut is a key prisoner of the Belarusian regime, one they will not relinquish easily.
“The only possibility is that Lukashenka unconditionally signs a decision to release Poczobut, allowing him to remain in Belarus,”
believes Zarembiuk.
“The Poczobut case is not only a personal tragedy but proof of the brutality of a system that suppresses freedom. Poland and international institutions must consistently demand his release. Andrzej Poczobut deserves freedom, and the Belarusian regime deserves international isolation,”
concludes MEP Dworczyk.