Andrzej Poczobut facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrzej Poczobut
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| Андрэй Пачобут | |
Poczobut in 2013
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| Deputy Chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus | |
| Chairman | Andżelika Borys |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 April 1973 Vyalikaya Byerastavitsa, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Polish-Belarusian |
| Spouse | Aksana Poczobut |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno |
| Occupation | Journalist, dissident |
Andrzej Poczobut (Belarusian: Андрэй (Анджэй) Пачобут Andrej (Andžej) Pačobut), born on April 16, 1973, is a journalist from both Poland and Belarus. He is known for speaking out against the government and for being an activist for the Polish minority in Belarus. He is considered a political prisoner, meaning he is held in prison because of his political beliefs or actions, not for a common crime. In October 2025, he received the Sakharov Prize, a special award from the European Union, for standing up against the powerful government of Alexander Lukashenko.
Andrzej Poczobut works as a reporter for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. He has been arrested many times by the government in Belarus. In 2011, he was fined and spent fifteen days in prison. This happened after he took part in a public gathering that did not have official permission, following the presidential election in 2010. Later, in 2011 and 2012, he was arrested again. This time, he was accused of writing false information about President Alexander Lukashenko in his news reports. Many groups around the world, like the European Parliament and Amnesty International, spoke out against his arrests. He was arrested again in 2021 and is currently in prison.
Contents
Who is Andrzej Poczobut?
Early Life and Journalism
Andrzej Poczobut worked as a journalist for several news groups in Belarus. These included Narodnaja Vola, Hłos z-nad Niemna, and Magazyn Polski. For many years, he lived in Hrodna and reported for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. He wrote about local news, community needs, and achievements.
Andrzej has always loved history, especially World War II and the Polish resistance movement that followed. He once described the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 as an act of "aggression," meaning an unprovoked attack. This statement was later used against him in a 2023 trial. He was accused of actions that could harm the country's safety and cause disagreements.
Poczobut was also one of the leaders of the Union of Poles in Belarus. He is the author of a book called System Belarus.
Standing Up for Rights
Andrzej Poczobut is known for his strong beliefs and for speaking out. He has often disagreed with the government in Belarus. His work as a journalist and activist has focused on telling the truth and supporting the rights of people, especially the Polish community in Belarus.
Facing Challenges
Arrests and Protests
On December 19, 2010, Belarus held a presidential election. Many people questioned the results, which led to large public protests. On January 12, 2011, security forces arrested Poczobut. He was accused of taking part in a public gathering that did not have official permission. The next day, he was fined 1.75 million Belarusian rubles (about US$580).
Security forces also searched his home and took his computer and documents. Andrzej said he was only doing his job as a journalist during the gathering. On February 11, he was tried again for the same reason and sentenced to fifteen days in prison.
Many important people and groups spoke up for him. Jerzy Buzek, who was the president of the European Parliament, asked for his release. The Committee to Protect Journalists in the US also protested. They said they were "outraged" that Poczobut was convicted on a false accusation and then sent to jail. His official permission to work as a journalist from the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs was taken away. He argued that his work was protected by his country's laws.
Accusations of False Reporting
On April 6, 2011, Poczobut was arrested again. This time, he faced charges of writing false information. These charges came from ten reports he had published about President Lukashenko and the 2010 election. He had shared these reports on his blog, in Gazeta Wyborcza, and on the Belaruspartisan.org website.
The Union of Poles in Belarus worked hard to get Poczobut released. Another Polish journalist, Ihar Bantsar, was sentenced to five days in prison just for reporting on the trial. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), reporters from Reuters and the Associated Press were treated roughly by police officers who were not in uniform when they tried to photograph Poczobut.
On July 5, 2011, he was found guilty. He received a three-year prison sentence that was put on hold. This meant he didn't have to go to prison right away unless he broke the law again. Poczobut believed this was because of pressure from other countries, including a statement from the European Union. Amnesty International also spoke out against his trial. They called him a prisoner of conscience, someone imprisoned for their beliefs or actions, not for violence. RSF asked for his conviction to be overturned, saying he was unfairly treated because he wanted to be an independent reporter. Poczobut tried to appeal the decision but lost on September 20.
International Support for Journalists
In November 2011, the Polish radio station Radio ZET gave him its Andrzej Wojciechowski prize for his journalism. Because Poczobut was not allowed to leave Belarus, his wife accepted the award for him.
On June 21, 2012, he was arrested again in Grodno. He faced another charge of writing false things about the president. This was for a story he wrote for the independent news site Charter 97. The story criticized how the government handled the 2011 Minsk Metro bombing. This charge could have led to five years in prison.
Poczobut was allowed to leave prison temporarily after a week, after promising to return for trial. However, he was told that a trial would still happen.
The European Parliament passed a resolution asking for the charges against Poczobut to be dropped. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the Belarusian ambassador to complain about the case. He said that the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary also supported his view. RSF again protested the charges, saying Poczobut was constantly bothered because he wanted to work as an independent reporter. Amnesty International also asked for the charges to be dropped. The PEN American Center also spoke up for him. They asked the Belarusian government to drop all charges and protect freedom of expression, as promised by international agreements.
Continued Legal Issues
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As part of strong actions taken against the Union of Poles in Belarus, Andrzej Poczobut was arrested again on March 25, 2021. Security forces searched his apartment, took all his computer equipment, and confiscated his documents. Josep Borrell, a high official from the European Union, spoke out against the arrest. In February 2023, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Achievements and Personal Details
Awards for His Work
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Andrzej Poczobut has received several awards for his journalism. In both 2011 and 2021, he was named Journalist of the Year at the Polish journalistic contest Grand Press.
In April 2023, he and Mortaza Behboudi received the IAPC Freedom of Speech Award.
In March 2024, Newsweek Poland called Poczobut "The Figure of the Decade."
In October 2025, Poczobut shared the annual EU award Sakharov Prize with Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.
About Andrzej's Life
Andrzej Poczobut was born on April 16, 1973, in Vyalikaya Byerastavitsa. He is married to Aksana Poczobut. They have a daughter, born around 2001, and a son, born in February 2011.
Andrzej is also a skilled chess player, holding the title of Candidate Master of Sports. He is an amateur musician and helped start a punk-rock band called Deviation.
See also
In Spanish: Andrzej Poczobut para niños
