{"id":206252,"date":"2026-10-05T16:32:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206252\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T16:32:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T13:32:29","slug":"polish-university-to-host-pacobut-for-lecture-on-authoritarianism","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206252\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish university to host Pa\u010dobut for lecture on authoritarianism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

October 5, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> The University of \u0141\u00f3d\u017a, Poland, will host an open meeting with Belarusian dissident journalist and prominent Polish minority activist Andrej Pa\u010dobut (Andrzej Poczobut) on October 13 that will focus on propaganda narratives used by authoritarian states, \u201cwith particular emphasis on present-day Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe meeting will focus on the mechanisms employed by contemporary authoritarian regimes to subordinate not only the media, public debate and historical memory, but also the very concept of truth and the legal system itself,\u201d the university\u2019s website says<\/a>. \u201cIt will explore the relationship between post-truth, propaganda and law in authoritarian systems, with particular emphasis on present-day Belarus. Post-truth will be presented not merely as a media or communication phenomenon but as a method of exercising power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the \u201cguest of honor,\u201d Pa\u010dobut will deliver a lecture entitled \u201cHistory as a Threat: Post-Truth and Law in the Service of Authoritarian Regimes,\u201d followed by a question-and-answer session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u010dobut will explain, among other things, how, in an authoritarian state, facts can be replaced by politically useful narratives and how the law, instead of protecting citizens, can become a tool of repression against those who challenge such narratives, the site says. The lecture will reportedly draw both on his many years of journalistic experience and on his personal experiences of trial, imprisonment and political persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrej Pa\u010dobut, known as a contributor to Gazeta Wyborcza<\/em>, was arrested in March 2021 as part of a crackdown on the unofficial Union of Poles in Belarus. He was given eight years in prison for allegedly inciting hatred and calling for sanctions in a case widely seen as politically motivated. Authorities freed Pa\u010dobut on April 28 and deported him to Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u010dobut has repeatedly said that being able to return to Belarus was one of the key conditions of his agreeing to leave the country after his release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month Pa\u010dobut travelled to Belarus for a week, where he reportedly visited his home city of Hrodna and met with Polish minority activists. On September 15, the activist left for Poland, defying predictions that he would be re-arrested. He subsequently announced an intention to return to Belarus permanently.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pa\u010dobut discusses ways to improve situation in Belarus with US envoy<\/h3>\n
September 24, Pozirk. Belarusian dissident journalist and prominent Polish minority activist Andrej Pa\u010dobut (Andrzej Poczobut), who is currently visiting the United States,\u00a0met with John Coale, US special envoy for Belarus, to discuss ways to improve the situation in Belarus. Pa\u010dobut …<\/div>\n \n