Andrzej Poczobut Becomes An Honorary Citizen Of Warsaw

That decision was unanimous.

One of the leaders of the independent Union of Poles in Belarus, political prisoner and journalist Andrzej Poczobut was recognized as an Honorary Citizen of Warsaw today.

The decision on this was unanimously adopted at the 6th session of the Warsaw City Council (Rada m.st. Warszawy), Charter97.org reports citing the online broadcast of the meeting.

The initiative to award Andrzej Poczobut the title of Honorary Citizen of Warsaw was taken by the deputy club of the Civic Coalition (Koalicja Obywatelska) based on the proposal of the head of the Commission for Culture and Promotion of Warsaw, Agnieszka Wyrwał.

Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska, the Speaker of the Warsaw City Council, presented the bill on awarding Andrzej Poczobut the title of Honorary Citizen of Warsaw to the council members at the session.

"Andrzej Poczobut is a man of great strength of character and nobility... I really would like to, although I do not have vivid illusions, that this award will help Andrzej Poczobut to walk free and come to be awarded personally," said Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska.

Andrzej Poczobut is one of the leaders of the independent Union of Poles in Belarus, as well as a historian and journalist. He was repeatedly persecuted by the Lukashenka regime, including for publishing articles on the Charter97.org website.

The political prisoner was detained on March 25, 2021. For the article about the events of September 1939, the journalist was accused of "inciting hatred along ethnic lines". So the authorities assessed what he called the aggression of the Soviet Union's attack on Poland.

The files of the criminal case also included statements by a journalist in defence of the Polish minority in Belarus, an article on the suppression of Belarusian protests in 2020 and a 2006 article about one of the commanders of the Polish anti-communist underground in the Hrodna region of Belarus.

On February 8, 2023, Mr Poczobut was sentenced to 8 years in prison. In response, Poland closed the Babrouniki checkpoint on the border with Belarus.

The political prisoner was repeatedly offered to write a petition for pardon, but he refused.

The Polish Foreign Ministry has repeatedly demanded that the Belarusian authorities immediately release Andrzej Poczobut.