Journalist Andrzej Poczobut freed as part of US-brokered Polish-Belarusian prisoner swap – as it happened

Sakharov prize winner was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony in Belarus in 2021 Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, the 2025 Sakharov prize winner, has been freed from Belarusian prison. His release has been confirmed by Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk, who posted a picture of him on social media saying: “Andrzej Poczobut is free! Welcome to your Polish home, my friend.” Detained by the Belarusian authorities in 2021, Poczobut was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony after a process widely condemned as politically motivated to silence critics. In recent years there were growing warnings about his deteriorating health. Awarding him the Sakharov prize in 2025, the European Parliament president Roberta Metsola hailed Poczobut and co-winner Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia as “two journalists whose courage shines as a beacon for all who refuse to be silenced.” “Both have paid a heavy price for speaking truth to power, becoming symbols of the struggle for freedom and democracy.” His release comes as part of a reported prisoners swap between Poland and Belarus; the details of which are yet to be reported or confirmed. … and on that note, it’s a