Andrzej Poczobut: “Our reaction to repression of the authorities is mobilization”

Leaders of the Union of Poles Andrzej Poczobut, Mieczyslaw Jaskiewicz, and Igor Bancer were released on February 20.

February 15, they were sentenced to five days of arrest by the court of the Leninski district of Hrodna for organizing a meeting on February 10 to support the Ivyanets branch of the unregistered Union of Poles in Belarus (the Valozhyn district, the Minsk region).

“We served the arrest in a temporary detention facility of the Kastrychnitski district militia department of Hrodna. Three of us were put in one cell for the first night, but then we put in different cells. There were criminals with several previous convictions in my cell. They are normal guys, it just happened so they had to break the law. I didn’t meet supporters of Lukashenka among inmates and guards. Militiamen don’t like their salaries decreased. In comparison with my arrests in 2005–2006, none of the militiamen demonstrated zeal. They had the order and they fulfilled it,” Andrzej Poczobut told in an interview to charter97.org.

What to conditions in the detention facility, the Union activist says they had improved. In his view, it has become possible only due to human rights activists. “This is a merit of Hrodna human rights activists, including Valer Levaneuski, who struggled a lot for this. Now they have mattresses in cells, inmates can go for a walk, which was forbidden earlier. But this place remains to be unpleasant, it smells bad, there’s a lack of fresh air in cells,” Andrzej Poczobut said.

Andrzej Poczobut thinks his arrest was absolutely unlawful.

“I was ready to appear before the court on Monday at 3 p.m., as the summons required. But I was detained at 9:40 a.m. They said I resembled a criminal and took me to the Kastrychnitski district militia department and then to the court. This was unlawful. This was related to the events in Valozhyn, the trial over Teresa Sobol (Tereza Sobal). We were going to support her, to give evidence at the trial.

There only witnesses from militia at the trial over, no witnesses for defence were invited. I explained we had had to organize a peaceful action to protect our rights, but judge Ksenia Stasyukevich didn’t take this into consideration. She chose a formal approach to the case: an article of the Code of Administrative Offences was violated, so you must be taken to prison. All judgements against us were similar. Repressions against the Union of Poles go on. I read the mud the official media are pouring on us and understand the repression will go on. The Belarusian authorities haven’t drawn any conclusions from the situation of 2005. We want to work legally and be able to elect our leadership. But it appears we want too much,” the activist of the Union of Poles said.

The democratic opposition held actions of solidarity with the leaders of the Union of Poles in Minsk and other Belarusian cities.

“We thank every Belarusian who expressed their solidarity with us. In the 1990ies I took part in numerous protest demonstrations against the regime of Lukashenka. I thank for Belarusians who support us today. Rights of all of us are violated. It’s not an ethnic, but civil conflict. The Belarusian authorities suffocate different public organizations. Area of freedom has reduced so that even national minorities are suppressed. We are considered a dangerous example of a possibility to struggle for our rights and succeed in this. Our organization has become stronger. The authorities do not take into account that a reaction to repressions is mobilization. This happens to us today. Policy of pressure on the Union of Poles has failed,” Andrzej Poczobut said.