Poland halts cargo traffic from Belarus, Minsk says
Kazłovičy border crossing
July 10, Pozirk. At of 3 a.m. this morning, Poland stopped processing heavy trucks coming from Belarus at the only checkpoint that handles cargo traffic between the countries, the Belarusian State Customs Committee said.
At least 600 Poland-bound trucks queued at the border overnight, it noted. The Poles have reportedly stepped up controls.
Trucks are still allowed to cross into Belarus, but are being processed much slower than usual, the committee said.
On June 22, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Warsaw might close the border with Belarus for cargo traffic.
Minsk can secure good-neighborly relations with Poland by releasing jailed journalist Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pačobut) and stopping the facilitation of illegal migration, he stressed.
In February 2023, shortly after Belarus had sentenced Poczobut to eight years in prison in a criminal case widely seen as politically motivated, Poland closed the Bobrowniki border crossing indefinitely.
Only two checkpoints remain open at the Belarusian-Polish border: Brest for passenger traffic and Kazłovičy for cargoes.
Belarus sentences Pole to 14 years in prison on charges of spying
July 8, Pozirk. The Brest Regional Court has sentenced Polish national Tomasz Bereza to 14 years in a medium-security penal colony, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported. Judge Siarhiej Bieraziuk found him guilty of spying at a closed-door trial. The …