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Belarus frees journalist Andrej Pačobut (Live)
Polish Prime Minsiter Donald Tusk and Andrej Pačobut
April 28, Pozirk. Belarusian state-run media have reported the release and transfer from Belarus to Poland of journalist and Polish minority activist Andrej Pačobut in a five-for-five exchange at the Belarusian-Polish border.
16:39
Belarus also freed Polish monk Grzegorz Gaweł arrested on suspicion of spying for Poland.
16:16
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and US Special Envoy John Coale held a news conference in Warsaw on the occasion.
16:13
“I am very glad that journalist Andrej Pačobut, a real hero, has been released from Łukašenka’s prison. But we should not forget that this prison still holds hundreds of political prisoners waiting to be released. Let’s fight for their release until all Belarusian prisoners are free,” said Aleś Bialacki, head of the Viasna Human Rights Center.
15:53
Tusk is to give a news conference in Warsaw at 16:30 (local time). Pačobut may participate. Polish TV will broadcast it live.
15:50
“Andrzej Poczobut, a political prisoner of the Łukaszenka regime, a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, is free! I thank the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for securing the release of our compatriot. I thank all those who worked toward this success,” said Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
15:48
“Deeply grateful to everybody who fought hard for the release of Andrzej Poczobut. An unbreakable hero, he was held hostage by the regime in Belarus for simply telling the truth,” Belarus’ opposition laeader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja said.
15:45
The US ambassador to Poland said on X:
America delivers for its friends and allies. Under @POTUS’s leadership, and with determined diplomacy led by Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale, Andrzej Poczobut is now free from detention in Belarus and can once again embrace his family. Our partners in Poland worked side by side with us to secure his release. We appreciate the incredible work of the Polish Special Services and Ministry of Foreign Affairs @MSZ_RP to get this done. That is what real partners do.
15:41
Coale posted on X:
Today, in my role as President Trump’s Special Envoy for Belarus, my team and I helped secure the release of three Poles and two Moldovans. This historic outcome was made possible thanks to @POTUS Trump’s leadership, @ChrisWelbySmith and his team @StateDept, and close coordination with several trusted partners. We thank Poland, Moldova, and Romania for their invaluable support in this effort, as well as President Lukashenka’s willingness to pursue constructive engagement with the United States. Under President Trump, America shows up for its allies and delivers diplomatic victories no one else can.
15:38
Tusk thanked “Moldovan friends” among others for Pačobut’s release.
15:34
Roman Imielski, deputy editor in chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, has published a picture of Pačobut, who has lost much weight.
15:30
Belarus’ state media said that the Committee for State Security (KGB) and Poland’s Intelligence Agency engaged in negotiations on Pačobut’s release since September 2025 on instructions from Alaksandar Łukašenka.
Łukašenka gave the green light for the negotiations after appeals “from the leaders of certain friendly countries” and was personally involved in the discussions. In all, secret agencies of seven countries were involved in the talks, state media reported without specifying the countries.
The five-for-five exchange resulted in the release of unnamed Belarusian citizens “who were carrying out especially important tasks in the interests of national security and defense capability of our country,” according to the state media.
Počobut was released after John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw on April 27.
14:46
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has confirmed Pačobut’s release by posting on X a photo with the journalist at the border and welcoming him in Poland.
A press conference is expected shortly at the Polish foreign ministry.
Pačobut, a contributor to Gazeta Wyborcza, had been in custody since March 2021. In February 2023, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced him to eight years in prison after Judge Dźmitryj Bubienčyk found him guilty of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions. Human rights defenders have recognized him as a political prisoner.
Pačobut was arrested on March 25, 2021, when masked police raided his home in Hrodna. That same day, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced criminal proceedings against him and other individuals.
The case was opened under Part Three of Article 130 of the Criminal Code, which penalizes incitement to racial, ethnic, religious, or other social hatred, as well as “the rehabilitation of Nazism.”
“The individuals. . . organized and held a number of illegal mass events with the participation of under-18s in Hrodna and other localities in the region since 2018. These events aimed to honor members of anti-Soviet gangs active during and after the [1941–1945] Great Patriotic War, who committed robberies, murdered Belarusian civilians, and destroyed property. Their actions were intended to rehabilitate Nazism and justify the genocide of the Belarusian people,” the Prosecutor General’s Office claimed.
Later, prosecutors also accused Pačobut of calling for sanctions. In 2022, he refused to petition Alaksandar Łukašenka for a pardon. The Committee for State Security (KGB) subsequently placed him on its list of “persons involved in terrorist activities.”
Poland’s Senate demands release of journalist Andrej Pačobut
April 22, Pozirk. Poland’s Senate has adopted, without reservations, a resolution demanding the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pačobut) from a Belarusian prison. The vote was timed to coincide with the 5th anniversary of his imprisonment. The resolution calls …
