Belarus Releases Polish Reporter Poczobut in Prisoner Swap

Andrzej Poczobut appears in court in Grodno, Belarus, in 2023.
Photographer: Leonid Shcheglov/AFP/Getty Images

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By Aliaksandr Kudrytski and Agnieszka Barteczko

April 28, 2026 at 11:41 AM UTC

Updated on

April 28, 2026 at 2:14 PM UTC

Belarus freed a prominent Polish journalist and activist from prison, meeting a longstanding demand of the neighboring European Union and NATO member.

Andrzej Poczobut is one of the most high-profile prisoners to be released by the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko and comes amid a push by US President Donald Trump’s administration to reengage with Minsk, a key ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.