Poles have appeared on the list of 52 people that the Belarusian regime released from prison today. This is the result of diplomatic talks conducted between Washington and Minsk. Unfortunately, the group does not include Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish activist and publicist unlawfully held by Lukashists for more than four years. “For Lukashenka, he is an extremely valuable political prisoner. His continued detention may indicate that the dictator, colloquially speaking, wants to ‘trade’ Poczobut in bilateral talks with Poland and set direct conditions for the Polish authorities, which will have to be met for Poczobut to regain his freedom,” Pavel Latushka, one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, told the Niezalezna.pl portal.
The U.S. Embassy in Lithuania reported that, after negotiations in Minsk, a U.S.-led delegation is en route from Belarus to Vilnius with 52 freed prisoners of various nationalities. Among them are 38 Belarusians and six Lithuanians. In addition, two citizens each of Latvia and Germany were released, as well as one citizen of France and one of the United Kingdom.
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that three Poles are in this group.
Unfortunately, it does not include Andrzej Poczobut, who has been unlawfully held by the Lukashenka regime since March 2021.
Lukashenka has a plan for Poczobut
Andrzej Poczobut— a hero to Poles and Belarusians alike— is an ace up the sleeve of the Belarusian dictator. “For Lukashenka, he is an extremely valuable political prisoner. His continued detention may indicate that the dictator, colloquially speaking, wants to ‘trade’ Poczobut in bilateral talks with Poland and set direct conditions for the Polish authorities, which will have to be met for Poczobut to regain his freedom,” commented Pavel Latushka, a former diplomat and one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.
“Lukashenka has recently had problems selling Belarusian goods. If he can’t sell them, he starts trading in people,” our interlocutor stresses.
“It is worth noting that the Americans are conducting talks with Belarus about the release of all political prisoners. That’s why I also hope that, sooner or later, Andrzej Poczobut will be included there,” he adds.
“We should highly value the efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration in this regard. But we should also note that since the release of Siarhei Tsikhanouski (the husband of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana — editor’s note) in June of this year, another 107 people have been recognized as political prisoners. In other words, the current situation is that Lukashenka is still jailing more people than he’s releasing. In this entire process we can see the U.S. extending a hand to Belarus — Washington arranged a Trump–Lukashenka phone call, sent its delegations to Minsk, and announced the lifting of sanctions on the Belarusian airline Belavia. At the same time, Lukashenka keeps sending more people to penal colonies,” Latushka adds.
“The Americans are taking on enormous responsibility for the fate of Belarusian political prisoners, but Lukashenka wants a broader game. He wants to draw the European Union into the talks, because the broadest and most powerful sanctions package is in Brussels’ hands. Lukashenka will now broaden his demands. He must not be conceded to. There is one condition — the release of all political prisoners. Then the U.S. can lift its sanctions, which in turn would open the way for similar moves by the EU,” the opposition figure believes.
“The stakes have now been raised by Poland, which has decided to close border crossings with Belarus. This is a very strong decision that opens the way to setting its own conditions. I will press for those conditions to include the release of Andrzej Poczobut and the Polish monk arrested a few days ago, as well as the remaining political prisoners in Belarus. Further conditions are an end to hybrid warfare and the convening of a round table in Belarus. As long as Lukashenka’s pro-Russian regime rules there, the threat from Belarus to Poland and Poles will be constant and permanent,” Pavel Latushka concludes.
Andrzej Poczobut — a Polish activist, journalist and publicist, and a member of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB), which has been outlawed by the Lukashenka regime — was arrested on March 25, 2021. Absurd charges were brought against him, including “rehabilitating Nazism” and “inciting hatred on national grounds.” After many months, Poczobut’s trial began in January 2023. In February 2023, a puppet court of Lukashenka loyalists in robes sentenced the Polish activist to eight years in a high-security penal colony. On May 26 of the same year, the court rejected Poczobut’s appeal. Since then, the Polish activist has been held in a penal colony in Novopolotsk, considered one of the harshest facilities of its kind in Belarus. He has repeatedly been sent to solitary confinement, the so-called “prison within a prison.” In recent months, alarming information has reached Poland from behind bars about Poczobut’s condition. His health is said to have deteriorated significantly; he has been denied access to medication, food parcels, and contact with a lawyer. Human rights defenders and the Belarusian opposition have repeatedly warned that Poczobut is being systematically subjected to psychological and physical torture.
This past week, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group decided to recommend Belarus-held Andrzej Poczobut for the Sakharov Prize. Awarded by the European Parliament since 1988, it is regarded as the EU’s most important distinction for work in defense of human rights.