At its 57th session today, the Polish Senate unanimously adopted a resolution marking the fifth anniversary of the detention of Andrzej Poczobut — a journalist, leader of the Polish minority in Belarus and laureate of the Sakharov Prize.
In the document, senators called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release the political prisoner.
“Recalling Poland’s struggle for human rights and the sovereign existence of the state, we express full solidarity with Belarusian fighters for democracy and freedom”, the resolution states.
The Senate also recalled that 30 years ago the independent human rights center Viasna was founded in Belarus, and expressed confidence that the efforts and sacrifice of Belarusian human rights defenders will become the foundation of a future free Belarus.
“We call on the authorities in Minsk to end repression, release all political prisoners and begin political dialogue with opposition forces inside the country and in exile in order to restore peace, social stability and realize the European and democratic aspirations of Belarusian society”, the senators wrote.
Marshal of the Polish Senate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska handed the resolution to Nobel Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
In February 2023, journalist Andrzej Poczobut was sentenced to eight years in a high-security penal colony. The trial was held behind closed doors. He was found guilty of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions. Poczobut is serving his sentence in a penal colony in Navapolatsk.
