Анджей Почобут. Скриншот эфира Польского радио.
Recently released Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut (Andrei Pachobut) plans to return to Belarus before autumn 2026. He said this on the Polish Radio program “Trójka.”
Host Agnieszka Laskowska asked Andrzej Poczobut whether he had already decided on a date for returning to Belarus. He replied that he would return by the congress of the Union of Poles in Belarus.
“There are still several issues that have not yet been settled, and only after they are resolved will I be able to go back. I have certain obligations, because enormous efforts were made to secure my release. So if there is a need to visit Brussels or some other place, I am of course ready to go there and talk about the situation I was in, and so on. But naturally, I would like this to happen as soon as possible, so that all these issues can be resolved as quickly as possible and I can return to Hrodna. Without a doubt, I will return to Hrodna before the congress of the Union of Poles, which is expected to take place in the near future — most likely in the autumn. And before that congress I should already be in Belarus. That is the deadline,” Poczobut said.
The journalist then asked him how he responds to criticism over his desire to return to Belarus. Below is the full translation of that exchange.
Laskowska: You say that enormous efforts were made to secure your release. And I think you have already heard the argument that proof of your gratitude for those efforts should be that you remain here, in Poland. What do you say when you hear such words or read them online?
Poczobut: The essence of the matter is that the condition of my departure was the possibility of returning to Belarus. If there had been no such possibility, I would not have accepted this offer. I intend to adhere to the agreements that were reached in Belarus in the context of this case. For the Polish side, it was by no means a surprise that I would want to return to Belarus. If it had only been about my departure, it could have happened back in 2021, 2022 or 2023. The key point was that it was precisely my refusal to leave that caused the case to drag on for so long. Only after the involvement of American diplomacy, American diplomats, and the negotiations currently taking place between Washington and Minsk, did the Belarusian regime agree that I could return to Belarus, that I could remain in Belarus. I understand that from the point of view of propaganda it was important for them to exchange me for someone. It was important for the Belarusian side to stage it in some way. But I did not ask for a pardon, I did not admit guilt, and my prison term was already nearing its end. I had a little more than a year and a half left to serve in prison.