Polish minority leader wants to stay in Belarus after release

April 12, BPN. Anžalika Borys (Andżelika Borys), the leader of the unofficial Union of Poles in Belarus, decided to stay in Belarus following the termination of a criminal case against her, she told Rzeczpospolita.

Borys had spent one year under house arrest after a year in custody and was released on April 4 “due to the lack of evidence.”

“At the moment I’m not thinking about moving to Poland,” she said. “I am a teacher of Polish, and it’s important for me to have the opportunity to teach Polish in Belarus. The situation may turn out differently, time will tell.”

In 2021, Borys declined the offer of release in exchange for leaving Belarus, noting that she was worried about other imprisoned Polish minority activists.

Borys also said that she had seen journalist Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pačobut), another defendant in the Poles’ case, two years ago in custody. He reportedly was determined to stay in Belarus at that time.

On February 8, authorities sentenced Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions that harmed the national security of Belarus.

In response to the verdict, Poland closed Bobrowniki, one of the two road checkpoints available for travelers. On March 31, Alaksandr Łukašenka said he was not ready to free Poczobut in exchange for the opening of the Bobrowniki border crossing.

Warsaw welcomed the termination of the criminal case against Borys and continues to call for the release of Poczobut and the dismissal of all charges against him.