Former political prisoner Andrzej Poczobut has returned to Belarus
Journalist Andrzej Poczobut, who was held in a Belarusian prison for nearly five years and released in April 2026 as part of a prisoner exchange, has returned to Belarus. According to Polish media, he plans to stay in the country for seven days to meet with his family and colleagues.
Former political prisoner Andrzej Poczobut returned to Belarus
On September 8, journalist Andrzej Poczobut, known as a former political prisoner in Belarus, entered the territory of Belarus through the Bobrowniki checkpoint on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Poczobut himself posted a photo from the city of Grodno on the X social network, captioning it in Polish "On the banks of the Neman".
Poland's PAP news agency, citing special services data, reported that the journalist crossed the border accompanied by a woman. According to Gazeta Wyborcza, Poczobut crossed the Polish-Belarusian border on the morning of September 8.
The journalist is scheduled to stay in Belarus for seven days. During this time, he intends to meet with his family members and colleagues from the Union of Poles in Belarus. Gazeta Wyborcza journalist Bartosz Wieliński called this trip "strictly personal". It is reported that after Belarus, Poczobut plans to head to the USA.
Andrzej Poczobut, a critic of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, had been detained since June 2021. In 2023, a Belarusian court sentenced him to eight years in a maximum-security penal colony.
In October 2025, the European Parliament awarded Poczobut the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
On April 28, 2026, Poczobut was released as a result of a prisoner exchange between Belarus, Russia, and the European Union. After his release, he had been living in the Polish city of Białystok.
Interestingly, the Bobrowniki border crossing, which Poczobut used to return to Belarus, was closed by Poland precisely after his sentencing. Later, its operations were restored.
After his release, Poczobut said he intended to visit Belarus in the autumn. Initially, he planned to participate in the congress of the Union of Poles in Belarus, but this event was postponed to the spring of 2027.