Poland’s minister-coordinator of special services, Tomasz Siemoniak, said in an interview with TVPinfo how the exchange at the Polish-Belarusian border unfolded, as a result of which Andrzej Poczobut was released on Tuesday.
According to Siemoniak, the Polish side was not fully certain of the operation’s success until the end.
“This exchange was highly likely, as it involved not only Poland and Belarus. However, in such situations one can never be sure that nothing will happen, that the president of Belarus will not call and say that we will not do this, because that is exactly what happened the last time, when we were very close to an exchange”, he said.
Siemoniak added that agreeing on the technical details of the exchange took several days. It was necessary to bring individuals from third countries to the border. Their participation increased the confidence of the Polish side.
“A minute before 13:00, when it was supposed to begin, the prime minister and I were watching the screen showing where the Belarusians with Andrzej Poczobut were expected to appear, and we were not certain. The emotions at that moment were very strong. This was really happening. There was the other side, which yesterday kept its word, but had broken it several times before”, he added.
Siemoniak said that the Polish side had set a condition: Andrzej Poczobut had to cross the border first.
“Yes, this was our condition, accepted by the other side, so for us it was obvious. No Andrzej Poczobut — no exchange”, he said.
According to him, he expected that Poczobut would raise the issue of returning to Belarus. Siemoniak noted that the political prisoner is “a great Polish, as well as Belarusian, hero of the struggle for democracy and for minority rights”, who does not want to be outside the law. The minister recalled that there had been cases when, during exchanges, individuals refused and returned to the country that had handed them over. Such a case occurred during the times of the Polish People’s Republic.
“Therefore, nothing was clear here, and it was obvious and natural for me that he wanted to make it clear: I care about Belarus, the rule of law in Belarus, and that he is not an exile from his country, like dozens or hundreds of other Belarusian opposition figures”, Siemoniak said.
“This is his decision. He has been provided with the best possible medical care here. Yesterday evening he met with his family. He needs to undergo examinations. However, he is a free man and will make this decision himself. Of course, we will do everything possible to provide him with the best conditions here, but as I said, he is a free man and will do whatever he wants”, he added, responding to a question about Poczobut’s possible decision.
The minister noted that Poczobut’s release is an important moment in Polish-Belarusian relations. He added that further steps now depend on Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and that the context of his talks with US presidential envoy John Coale is important.
Siemoniak stressed that although Poczobut is the most well-known among those released, the return of other participants in the exchange was also important.
“However, the person imprisoned in Belarus on charges of spying for Poland — we worked very intensively on this, and we were also very concerned about him. We do not abandon anyone who worked for Poland, or those who, like Father Havel, were accused of it, although the evidence here was very limited. We search for every Pole whom we believe is imprisoned unjustly and for political reasons, either on false charges of espionage or others”, he said.
Responding to a question about the factors behind the success of the operation, the minister said that three individuals extradited by Poland were of great importance to the other side.
“Undoubtedly, the fact that the three people we are extraditing are of great importance to the other side matters. Certainly, American involvement and US-Belarus relations. And of course, the fact that Russia, which often pulls the final strings in Belarus’ case, was also very interested in carrying out this exchange. These factors undoubtedly determined yesterday’s success”, he said.
Siemoniak added that Lukashenka found himself in a situation where he had to take into account Russia and the Americans, which limited his ability to derail the deal at the last minute because “someone in Poland said something”.
The programme host also asked whether Poland intended to launch an investigation into Poczobut’s alleged torture.
“I believe we should take all necessary legal steps in such a case. It is difficult for me to speak on behalf of the prosecutor’s office or assess the situation. I can say one thing for sure, because I was there, I spoke with Andrzej Poczobut. We embraced. I knew him from media reports and saw that he was a strong man, cheerful, energetic and so on.
I embraced a man who, after five years, had simply been starving, was exhausted and weak, so he did not have the conditions that should exist in prison. Even when a person is detained, there are certain rules regarding medical care, nutrition and treatment […] And this should also be part of the assessment by the prosecutor’s office and the Polish authorities of how he was treated there”, he replied.
Siemoniak also commented on the prospects for improving relations with Minsk.
“It is difficult to say. We are interested in keeping these relations as unstrained as possible. The reopening of some border crossings last year… However, Poland’s experience shows that these relations follow a kind of sine wave: better, worse, and more often worse. After 2020, after the flawed presidential election in Belarus, we faced very negative developments, including hybrid aggression at the border.
It is worth noting that for several weeks there have been no attempts at illegal crossings from the Belarusian side, which had been our nightmare for years since 2021. Therefore, Poland is certainly interested in normal relations, in avoiding various tensions and so on.
However, to what extent Lukashenka is independent from Russia and to what extent he can afford such a policy are separate questions. We are following what is happening between the United States and Belarus, and I am sure — we discuss this daily — it is also important that Belarus is not a state that is 100% dependent on Russia”, Siemoniak said.
