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Polish-Belarusian activist Poczobut receives Jan Karski Medal

22.09.2026 22:00
Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut received the Jan Karski Medal at a ceremony in Lublin, eastern Poland, on Monday.
Andrzej Poczobut (right) and his wife Oksana Poczobut (left)
Andrzej Poczobut (right) and his wife Oksana Poczobut (left)PAP/Wojtek Jargiło

The ceremony included the unveiling of a memorial stone honouring Karski, a Polish World War II underground courier who was among the first to provide the Allies with eyewitness accounts of the extermination of Jews in German-occupied Poland.

Poczobut, a member of the Union of Poles in Belarus, spent more than five years in detention and prison in Belarus.

He was awarded the medal by the Jan Karski Educational Society in August 2023, while he was still imprisoned.

The medal is awarded to people and institutions that uphold the ideals associated with Karski's legacy.

Poczobut recently travelled to Belarus, where he met his family and visited branches of the Union of Poles in Belarus in several locations.

He said his task was to ensure that Poles in Belarus "are not forgotten," Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Poczobut described Belarus as being "five minutes short" of becoming a totalitarian state and said the Union of Poles and its community schools were among "the things that remain."

He also expressed "moderate optimism" about the determination of Poles in Belarus to preserve their identity. Around 3,800 children studied Polish at community schools associated with the Union during the previous school year, he said.

Poczobut called Karski a "global hero" and said his work went beyond divisions and borders.

He said he was honoured to receive recognition from people who preserve Karski's memory.

(sp/gs) 

Source: PAP