"September is the deadline by which I must return to Belarus", Poczobut told reporters after attending a Polish Senate session, where he received an appointment to the Polonia Consultative Council. He said the congress of the Union of Poles in Belarus is scheduled for that month and that the Polish community there expects him back. "It is very important for me and for them, and I feel it is my duty", he said.
Asked whether he fears being jailed again, Poczobut was measured. "It's hard to say how it will go. For some reason they released and pardoned me, for some reason they returned my passport and said I would be able to come back. So we'll see", he said.
Poczobut had been behind bars since March 2021. Following a politically motivated trial, he was sentenced to eight years in a high-security penal colony in Navapolatsk on charges of "inciting hatred" and "calling for actions against state security". Human rights organizations in Belarus and internationally recognized him as a political prisoner.
After more than five years of detention, Poczobut was freed on April 29 in a "five-for-five" prisoner exchange, under which Minsk released three Polish citizens and two Moldovan nationals. The operation was the result of cooperation between Polish, American, Romanian, and Moldovan intelligence services. Polish President Karol Nawrocki awarded him the Order of the White Eagle.
Poczobut expressed gratitude for the efforts made to secure his release. "I had the opportunity yesterday to thank the people who directly conducted the negotiations for my release", he said.
(jh)
Source: PAP