In September this year, a congress of the Union of Poles in Belarus Union of Poles in Belarus is scheduled to take place. Even before this event, journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut Andrzej Poczobut plans to return to Belarus.
“In Grodno is my home, I would like to return home,” he said on Wednesday during a briefing organized by the Polish Community.
The journalist and member of the Polish minority in Belarus, who was recently released after more than five years from a penal colony of the regime of Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Lukashenko, met with residents of Białystok Białystok.
There, the Polish Community organized a press conference summarizing the organization’s activities. Andrzej Poczobut took part in the meeting.
Residents of Białystok will be able to meet the activist of the Polish minority in Belarus on Wednesday at 6 p.m. near the monument of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko Jerzy Popiełuszko in the city center of Białystok, where from June 2021 to April 2026 actions of support were held.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone who took part in the solidarity actions. I am grateful to Poles, but also to Belarusians who came to show their solidarity with me (…). It always gave me strength and I always knew that whatever happens, I am remembered,” said Poczobut.
Questions about the future
The former Belarusian political prisoner has repeatedly declared since returning to Poland that he intends to go back to Belarus. The upcoming congress of the Union of Poles in Belarus is expected to be the occasion for this return.
The date of the event – September 13 in Grodno (Hrodna) – was decided a few days ago by the Supreme Council of the Union.
While in Białystok, Poczobut once again confirmed that his statement about wanting to return to Belarus remains valid.
“In September, before the congress of the Union of Poles, I will return to Belarus. It can be assessed in different ways and things may turn out differently, but I am optimistic. I would not have agreed to leave if I had not received a passport and assurance that I would be able to return to Belarus,” he told journalists.
“I would like to return home, Grodno is my home,” he emphasized.
Andrzej Poczobut spent eight years in a penal colony in Novopolotsk from May 2023, sentenced for “inciting and provoking hatred” and “calling for actions detrimental to Belarus.” The Belarusian prosecutor’s office also accused him of “rehabilitating Nazism,” as well as calling for sanctions and actions against Belarus.
He was released at the end of April this year and left for Poland. His release became possible thanks to long-term diplomatic efforts and a complex international operation involving intelligence services from several countries, including Poland, the United States, Moldova, and Romania.