Andrzej Poczobut returns to Belarus four months after release from penal colony

Crossing the border into Grodno

On the morning of Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut crossed the Polish-Belarusian border through the Bobrowniki crossing in Podlaskie voivodeship. Accompanied by his daughter Jana, Poczobut traveled toward his native region, planning stops in his birthplace of Brzostowica Wielka before arriving in Grodno. Shortly after 14:00 Polish time, he published a photograph on social media standing against the backdrop of a bridge in Grodno with the caption 'Nad Niemnem' (On the Neman). Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski had personally appealed to Poczobut to remain in Poland, but he insisted on returning to his home town.

Terms of release and the return decision

Poczobut spent more than five years in detention following his March 2021 arrest, including serving an eight-year sentence in a maximum-security penal colony handed down in February 2023 for alleged incitement of hatred and actions harming national security. He was released on 28 April 2026 in a multilateral prisoner exchange coordinated with the United States, Moldova, and Romania, in which Poland released Russian historian Aleksander Butyagin. Bartosz Wieliński of Gazeta Wyborcza stated that Poczobut insisted during negotiations that he would not leave prison unless Belarusian authorities permitted him to return to Belarus, which a representative of Alexander Lukashenko confirmed at the border while delivering a valid passport. Before crossing back on Tuesday, Poczobut explained his reasoning to Gazeta Wyborcza.

I found myself in a situation that anyone would be afraid of. And I am afraid. But in life one should not be guided by fear.

Agenda in Belarus and travel schedule

Poczobut announced that his visit to Belarus will last approximately one week. His itinerary includes visiting family graves, meeting his parents, and conferring with local activists from the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB). The ZPB Supreme Council had met in Białystok on Saturday and decided to postpone its national congress from mid-September 2026 to March 2027 because of ongoing legal and security risks. Despite the postponement, Poczobut maintained his travel schedule to support members of the Polish minority directly. After completing his stay in Belarus, he plans to travel to the United States and Canada to meet politicians and Polish diaspora organizations, before returning to Poland to complete a book detailing his prison experiences.

Opposition warnings and diplomatic assessment

The return prompted immediate caution from exiled Belarusian opposition figures, who emphasized that general conditions inside the country have not improved. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged other political refugees to avoid returning home.

I am very glad that Andrzej is now in Belarus and can be at home. However, it is important not to draw the conclusion that the situation in the country has changed for everyone. For those facing persecution, returning may still be dangerous.

Her adviser Franak Wiaczorka described the visit as a positive precedent but reiterated that persons facing potential arrest must refrain from travel to Belarus. Former Polish ambassador to Belarus Mariusz Maszkiewicz suggested that US diplomatic leverage and trade discussions regarding potash fertilizers provided Poczobut with an informal guarantee of safe passage.