Belarus has released prominent journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut as part of a prisoner swap with Poland. The release of Poczobut, a leading figure among the Polish minority in Belarus, marks a potential step toward warming relations between Minsk and the West.
Poczobut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and winner of the 2025 Sakharov prize, had been serving an eight-year sentence in a Belarusian penal colony. His imprisonment was widely condemned as being politically motivated.
The release was part of a US-brokered multi-country swap deal that saw a total of 10 people freed. This move comes as Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko seeks to improve relations with Western nations.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the release on social media, welcoming Poczobut to his Polish home. The release meets a longstanding demand of Poland, a member of the European Union and NATO.