Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish journalist, has been freed after five years in a Belarusian penal colony, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed. His release was part of a US-brokered multi-country prisoner swap, according to U.S. special envoy John Coale. Poczobut was sentenced to eight years in 2023 after a trial widely condemned as politically motivated, according to Amnesty International.
The prisoner exchange involved Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, Coale said at a press conference in Warsaw. Three Poles and two Moldovans were released as part of the deal, he added. Coale, who led negotiations with Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, plans to return to Belarus in two or three weeks for further talks, and he estimated that 800 to 900 political prisoners remain in Belarus.
The release is part of a broader attempt to bring Belarus closer to the West, according to a U.S. State Department spokesperson. The U.S. previously secured the release of 123 prisoners, including dissidents Ales Bialiatski and Maria Kalesnikava, and removed some sanctions late last year, a State Department statement noted.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for the release. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Poczobut’s release symbolized Poland’s commitment to Poles abroad and to media freedom, and he praised the U.S.-Polish alliance. Prime Minister Tusk described the release as the culmination of a two-year diplomatic effort. A UN report had warned of Poczobut’s deteriorating health due to prolonged solitary confinement and denial of medical care. The exact terms of the swap, including the identities of exchanged prisoners and the total number released, remain unclear. The timeline has not been disclosed. Coale’s planned return to Belarus indicates efforts to free remaining political prisoners continue, but the next steps remain uncertain.