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Polish-Belarusian journalist Poczobut honoured by EU parliament

18.06.2026 10:15
Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, who was released from prison earlier this year after being jailed by Belarusian authorities, has received the European Parliament's 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Andrzej Poczobut speaks in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, June 17, 2026.
Andrzej Poczobut speaks in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, June 17, 2026.Photo: EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola presented the award to Poczobut before he addressed lawmakers during a plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

The prize was jointly awarded in December to Poczobut and Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.

Welcoming Poczobut, Metsola said: "It is our honour to welcome Andrzej Poczobut to the European Parliament as a free man. The Sakharov Prize we awarded him last year recognised not only his courage, but the values he refused to abandon despite years of unjust imprisonment."

She added: "His release gives hope, but it must also strengthen our resolve: wherever people are persecuted for speaking the truth, defending democracy or exercising their fundamental freedoms, Europe will not look away."

Poczobut, who was arrested in 2021 and released in April, thanked European lawmakers for their support.

"I want you to know that your voice is not only heard in the free world; it crosses prison walls," he said. "I learned about being awarded the Sakharov Prize and about the European Parliament's statements while I was in prison. I also saw that your concern for my fate influenced the behaviour of the guards. Thank you for that."

Addressing lawmakers, Poczobut spoke about pressure on the Polish minority in Belarus, describing it as part of what he called a long-running anti-European campaign by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

He highlighted the lack of freedom of expression and media freedom in Belarus, restrictions on foreign journalists and the authorities' targeting of government critics on social media.

Poczobut also drew attention to the country's remaining political prisoners, including journalists, and called for the release of his fellow Sakharov laureate Amaglobeli, who remains imprisoned in Georgia.

"The situation in Belarus is extremely dramatic," he said. "I believe that long-term efforts to promote democracy and human rights, support for grassroots initiatives in authoritarian states and assistance to independent media will ultimately help ensure that Belarus becomes part of Europe in more than just a geographical sense."

A historian, journalist and activist for the Polish minority in Belarus, Poczobut spent several years in prison under harsh conditions because of his reporting and his efforts to defend Polish language and culture rights.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been awarded annually by the European Parliament since 1988 to individuals, groups and organisations that promote human rights, freedom of expression and democratic values.

In 2020, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize to Belarus' democratic opposition.

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Source: IAR, PAP, europarl.europa.eu