00:02Prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobot has been released from jail in Belarus in a swap with Poland
00:08that also saw a total of 10 prisoners released, officials said on Tuesday.
00:14Andrzej Poczobot was imprisoned solely for the fact that he spoke the truth.
00:20We sympathized with him because this is a recent memory for us.
00:26For 45 years in this country under communism, people went to jail for simply speaking the truth, no other crime.
00:34And so he became a symbol.
00:37Poczobot is a correspondent for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Vyborcza and a leading figure among Belarus' Polish minority.
00:44He was serving eight years in prison in a case condemned as politically motivated.
00:49His arrest in 2021 drew widespread criticism from Europe.
00:54The exchanges saw Poland released a jailed Russian archaeologist, Alexander Butyajin, who was wanted by Ukraine.
01:02The prisoner swap came as Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko sought improved relations with the West.
01:09In March, Lukashenko ordered the release of 250 political prisoners as part of a deal with Washington that lifted some
01:17U.S. sanctions.
01:17Thanks.
01:18Thank you for having me.
01:19Thank you for being here.Å“
Comments