“Andrzej Poczobut did not remain in Belarus, which ultimately resulted in his later imprisonment, only to now write loyalty pledges 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 one,” says Aleś Zarembiuk, Belarusian opposition activist and head of the Belarusian House Foundation in Warsaw, in an interview with the portal Niezależna.pl.
Among the 123 political prisoners released on Saturday in Belarus are said to be, among others, citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia, Australia, Japan, and also Poland. Unfortunately, Andrzej Poczobut – a Polish journalist and activist, a member of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB), banned by the regime, and a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle – was not among those freed.
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 Lukashenko regime, was arrested on 25 March 2021. He was charged with absurd accusations, including “rehabilitating Nazism” and “inciting national hatred.” After many months, in January 2023, Poczobut’s trial began. In February 2023, a puppet court of Lukashenko’s followers, dressed in judicial robes, sentenced the Polish activist to eight years in a high-security penal colony. On 26 May that same year, the court rejected Poczobut’s appeal.
“For Andrzej Poczobut, writing a request for a pardon or agreeing to leave Belarus – as is the case with the political prisoners released today – has never been and is not an option. And the Lukashenko regime is fully aware of this,”
says Zarembiuk.
“Poczobut did not remain in Belarus, which ultimately resulted in his later imprisonment, only to now write loyalty pledges 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 one. I do not know what would have to happen for him to make such a decision,”
he adds.
“The only possibility is that Lukashenko signs an unconditional decision to release Poczobut, allowing him to remain in Belarus,” Zarembiuk believes.
“In no way can we say that repression in Belarus is decreasing or that the situation has suddenly begun to improve. Every day, new people are detained and thrown into jails and prisons. According to the Human Rights Center Viasna, since the previous release of 51 prisoners, 157 people have been arrested. So it turns out that Lukashenko incarcerates roughly as many people as he releases,”
he adds.
“Poland reacted – it opened border crossings, it is showing activity – there is no basis for complaints here. Everything depends on Lukashenko himself. He knows who Poczobut is for the people of Poland and Belarus. Lukashenko must sign an unconditional release so that Poczobut can return home, to Grodno. As things stand now, although political prisoners are indeed being released, they cannot return to their homes or meet their loved ones. Many of those freed in September still have not met their wives or children. That is what it looks like in practice,”
he concludes.