Journalist Andrzej Poczobut Freed From Belarus Prison in US-Brokered Swap Deal
Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, the 2025 Sakharov prize winner, walked free from a Belarusian penal colony on Tuesday after serving five years behind bars, his release secured through a multi-country prisoner swap deal brokered by the United States. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the development on social media, posting a photograph of the journalist alongside a message of welcome.
"Andrzej Poczobut is free! Welcome to your Polish home, my friend," Tusk wrote on social media, confirming the journalist's return to Poland.
Poczobut, who holds dual Polish-Belarusian citizenship, was sentenced to eight years in a Belarusian penal colony in 2023 on charges widely condemned by international human rights groups as politically motivated retaliation for his reporting on the Lukashenko regime. His detention drew sharp criticism from the European Union, which awarded him the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2025—the bloc's highest human rights honor—while he remained imprisoned.
Prisoner Swap Details
The release came as part of a complex exchange involving multiple countries, with the United States acting as the primary broker. While the full list of individuals swapped in the deal has not been disclosed by participating governments, the arrangement marks one of the most significant prisoner exchanges involving Belarus since the 2020 crackdown on political dissent.
Poczobut's case had become a flashpoint in deteriorating relations between Belarus and the West. The journalist worked for Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza and the Belarusian service of Radio Racja, reporting critically on President Alexander Lukashenko's government before his arrest in 2021. His eight-year sentence was handed down after a closed trial that international observers said lacked due process.
Political Reaction
Tusk's confirmation came hours after reports emerged that Poczobut had been transferred from the penal colony to an undisclosed location before being flown out of Belarus. The Polish prime minister did not provide details on the negotiations but thanked international partners for their role in securing the journalist's freedom.
The release represents a rare diplomatic breakthrough between Belarus and Western nations, which have imposed successive rounds of sanctions on Minsk over human rights abuses and the suppression of independent media. Poczobut's imprisonment had been cited by EU officials as a key example of the crackdown on press freedom in Belarus, where authorities have shuttered independent news outlets and jailed dozens of journalists since 2020.
Poczobut's family had campaigned tirelessly for his release, with his wife and children relocating to Poland during his imprisonment. The journalist's health had deteriorated during his detention, according to advocacy groups, who reported he had been denied adequate medical care while incarcerated.
The Sakharov Prize, awarded annually by the European Parliament, was given to Poczobut in December 2025 in a ceremony that featured an empty chair symbolizing his absence. The prize committee described him as "a symbol of the struggle for freedom of expression in Belarus and beyond."
Poczobut's return to Poland marks the end of a five-year ordeal that began with his arrest in January 2021, when Belarusian authorities raided his home and seized his equipment. He was initially charged with inciting social hatred and later with organizing actions that disrupted public order—charges he and his legal team denied as fabricated.