Belarus: Freedom for Andrzej Poczobut must lead to more releases

‘Andrzej Poczobut spent over five years in prison in Belarus simply for daring to speak truth to power. That he was released as part of a prisoner exchange demonstrates once again that the Belarusian authorities are using detainees as political pawns. As we warmly celebrate Poczobut’s freedom, we call upon Belarus to free all those still unjustly jailed and end their relentless crackdown on dissent’ said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee. 

06 May 2026: The Belarusian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those still imprisoned for their peaceful expression, PEN International, PEN Belarus and Polish PEN said today, after Belarusian-Polish writer and journalist Andrzej Poczobut was freed from Belarusian prison and sent to Poland. At the time of writing, 24 writers remain behind bars or under house arrest in Belarus on politically motivated grounds.

 On 28 April 2026, writer, journalist and minority activist Andrzej Poczobut was freed from jail in Belarus as part of a prisoner swap with Poland. He was welcomed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the Polish-Belarusian border, after Poland spent years advocating for his release. Poczobut had been serving an eight-year prison term in connection with his coverage of 2020 anti-government protests in Belarus, statements he made in support of the Polish minority in Belarus, and his labelling of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 as an act of ‘aggression’. He was repeatedly denied access to his family and lawyers, preventing them from receiving information about his life-threatening heart condition for which he was previously reportedly denied medication. The PEN movement actively campaigned on his behalf and notably honoured him as Empty Chair at the 91st PEN International Congress in Kraków, Poland, in September 2025.  

PEN International, PEN Belarus and Polish PEN welcome Andrzej Poczobut’s long awaited freedom and reiterate calls on the Belarusian authorities to immediately end their crackdown on dissent and to release all those still imprisoned on politically motivated grounds. Scores of Belarusian writers have been released into exile in Poland in recent months following negotiations between Belarus and the United States over lifting economic sanctions. PEN International, PEN Belarus and Polish PEN further call on the Polish authorities to ensure these individuals have the possibility to travel to the country of their choice and are provided with clear and accessible information, as well as comprehensive assistance, including full support in legalization processes, ensuring that these procedures are as swift as possible and enable timely access to documents and legal status. 

Following his release, Andrzej Poczobut underwent medical examinations in Warsaw and spoke about the ill-treatment he suffered in prison, including being placed in prolonged solitary confinement and detained in freezing conditions. PEN International, PEN Belarus and Polish PEN call upon the international community to redouble efforts to address gross human rights violations in Belarus and hold those responsible to account.  

Additional information 

Born on 16 April 1973, Andrzej Poczobut is an essayist, journalist, columnist, blogger, poet, and musician. He worked for Gazeta Wyborcza – a Polish daily newspaper – and several Belarusian media outlets. His book System Białoruś (System Belarus), published in 2013, explores Aliaksandr Lukašenka’s grip on Belarus. Detained on 25 March 2021 in Hrodna, Western Belarus, Poczobut was charged with ‘incitement to racial, national or religious hatred or discord’ under Article 130.3 of the Belarusian Criminal Code. He was subsequently also charged with ‘incitement of measures of a restrictive nature (sanctions) and other actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of Belarus’ (Article 361.3 of the Belarusian Criminal Code). Found guilty and sentenced to eight years in a medium-security penal colony on 8 February 2023, his sentence was upheld on appeal on 26 May 2023. Poczobut was awarded the European Parliament’s 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought alongside imprisoned Georgian journalist and PEN case Mzia Amaglobeli, as well as the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour.  

For more information about PEN International’s campaign for Andrzej Poczobut, please see Writers Under Siege: Defying Silence – its Case List 2026.  

PEN Belarus’s monitoring of cultural and human rights violations against cultural workers is available here.  

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