Polish-Belarusian Journalist Poczobut Freed in 10-Person Swap

Prominent Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut was released from a Belarusian prison on Tuesday as part of a prisoner swap with Poland that involved a total of 10 detainees from multiple countries, officials confirmed.

Poczobut, a correspondent for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a prominent member of Belarus's Polish minority, had been detained since March 2021 and sentenced in 2023 to eight years in a penal colony on charges of inciting ethnic hostility and acting against national security. Polish officials and international observers described the case as politically motivated. His imprisonment drew criticism across Europe, and he received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for human rights in 2025.

The exchange took place at the Poland-Belarus border. A Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman said Belarus released five prisoners, three of whom went to Poland in return for three detainees sent by Poland. The broader deal encompassed 10 individuals and involved cooperation from several nations, including the United States, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Among those released by Poland was Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, head of the...