On 28 April 2026 Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus, regained his freedom. He was released as part of the exchange of prisoners between Poland and Belarus on the border in the area of Białowieża.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk personally welcomed him on Polish soil. On platform X he published a photo with Pochobut and wrote: ‘Andrzej Pochobut free. Welcome to the Polish home, friend".
Pochobut was one of the most famous political prisoners of the regime of Alexander Lukashenka. He was detained on March 25, 2021, and sentenced to an 8-year maximum security penal colony. He was formally accused of "rehabilitation of Nazism" and "calling for sanctions" – allegations commonly considered politically motivated. For over five years, he was in severe conditions, including a penal colony in Nowopolock.
The release came as a result of many months of negotiations, which were also attended by the American side. According to Belta, several prisoners from both sides were released as part of the exchange.
President Karol Nawrocki and head of the MFA Radosław Sikorski responded to the news with great joy. Sikorski stressed that the release of Poczopbut was a "great day" and an example of an effective Polish-American alliance.
Andrzej Poczobut has been a correspondent of "Gazeta Wyborcza" in Belarus for years, an activist of the Union of Poles in Belarus and an implacable critic of the Lukashenko regime. For his journalistic activity and the defence of the rights of the Polish minority he was repeatedly persecuted.
After returning to Poland, Pochobut is safe and in good health.
It is one of the most anticipated returns of the Polish political prisoner from Belarus for years.
