Warsaw, Poland. Belarus has released Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, as the two countries conducted a prisoner exchange at their border.
Tusk announces Poczobut’s release
“Andrzej Poczobut is free! Welcome to your Polish home, my friend,” Tusk wrote on social media platform X, posting a picture of himself with the journalist of Polish origin.
Five-for-five exchange at the border
Belarus and Poland were carrying out a five-for-five prisoner exchange at their shared border, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported earlier on Tuesday.
Arrest, conviction, and Poland’s position
Poczobut was arrested in March 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison in 2023 on charges of inciting ethnic hostility and undermining Belarusian security.
Poland says the charges against him are unjust and politically motivated.
Broader context in Belarus-Poland relations
Poland has been an important refuge for opponents of authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Poland has also become one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine since Russia, Minsk’s main ally, launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
What impact could this prisoner exchange have on relations between Poland and Belarus?