Belarus: EU welcomes release of political prisoner Andrzej Poczobut
The European Union has welcomed the release by the Belarusian regime of Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and laureate of the Sakharov Prize.
Andrzej Poczobut is a journalist, essayist, blogger and activist from the Polish minority in Belarus. Known for his outspoken criticism of the Lukashenka regime and his writings on history and human rights, he has been arrested many times. Detained since 2021, he was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony.
“Andrzej Poczobut is finally free,” Anitta Hipper, Lead Spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, posted on X. “A journalist and laureate of the Sakharov Prize, his case symbolised the broader repression in Belarus. While we welcome his release, we call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those still unjustly imprisoned in Belarus.”
Andrzej Poczobut, together with another journalist – Mzia Amaglobeli imprisoned in Georgia – was awarded the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament on 16 December 2026.
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