A fewer months after leaving the Belarusian prison, Andrzej Poczobut, 1 of the leaders of the Union of Poles in Belarus, upholds the decision that many would go back against. In September, he wants to return to the country that sentenced him to 8 years of penal colony to attend the 11th Convention of the Union, scheduled for 13 September in Grodno. He keeps saying that Grodno is his home. This announcement is besides a individual motion and test for the government of Alaksandra Lukashenko.
Five years in the hands of the regime
"Gazeta Wyborcza" writer and long-term activist of the Polish number went to prison on 25 March 2021, as part of a wide wave of repression of Minsk against the Union of Poles in Belarus. In February 2023, the court sentenced him to 8 years of maximum safety penal colony, charging him with incitement to hatred and action against Belarus' security. Poland and human rights organizations considered these accusations purely political from the beginning, and Pochobut himself a prisoner of conscience. In 2025, he was honored with the Sakharov Prize.
Release in exchange of "five for five"
He regained freedom on 28 April, after almost 5 years of isolation. This happened as part of the exchange of prisoners, which took place at the border crossing in the Białowieża Forest; the Belarusian side released 3 Poles and 2 Moldovans. The operation had American support, and Polish politicians tied it to the engagement of the US administration. The thin Postobut was transported to the infirmary after crossing the border. The Prime Minister greeted him with words about returning to the Polish house.
A decision that surprised
Despite this experience, the writer does not intend to stay in Poland permanently. It announces a return to Belarus to participate in the union convention, which remains 1 of the pillars. "In Grodna is my home," he says, explaining that he cannot imagine abandoning the community he worked for for for years. For many observers, specified an attitude is bordering on bravado, a substance of faithfulness to him.
Test for Polish diplomacy
Pochobut's case became a litmus paper of Polish politics towards Belarus. His release of the authorities in Warsaw was presented as a success, but a lasting test will be whether the government will let him to return safely and act. The journalist, honored in 2025 with the Sakharov Prize, remains 1 of the most recognizable symbols of the opposition of the Polish minority. For thousands of Poles in Grodzieńsk, his attitude is simply a signal that the community was not abandoned.
Polish number under pressure
The Polish Union in Belarus has been in conflict with the government for respective years, which does not recognise its democratically elected authorities and forces the organization to take its place to Minsk. Repressions towards activists, closing of Polish schools and limiting language teaching are elements of the same policy. The return of Pochobut in this context becomes more than a private decision. It is simply a motion in defence of Polishness in the old Kresach and a test whether the power in Minsk will dare to scope for the man she had to release again. Will return be a test of strength between the Polish community and the government that tried to break it?
Source: Radio Maryja
