"Members of the Belarusian intelligence service, the KGB, raided his apartment in Grodno on March 25, 2021. They arrested Poczobut and confiscated his computer, documents and Polish books. Lukashenko himself commented publicly on the arrest. "An illegal organization in Grodno openly glorified bandits and Nazis," the dictator thundered. For Poczobut, this was the start of a long odyssey through a series of Belarusian jails."
"He was given a show trial and sentenced in 2023 to eight years in prison on charges of attempting to "harm national security," "incite national or religious hatred" and "rehabilitate Nazism." Poczobut was sent to the infamous Penal Colony No. 1 a camp in the north of the country, not far from the border with Russia, where conditions are particularly harsh. His first few months there were in solitary confinement."
Andrzej Poczobut, a Belarusian of Polish roots and correspondent for Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza, has long been an outspoken critic of Alexander Lukashenko. He was arrested in 2010 and 2011 after reporting on protests, and faced intensified hostility during the 2020 mass protests after a fraudulent election. In March 2021 the KGB raided his Grodno apartment, seized materials and detained him. He underwent a show trial and in 2023 received an eight-year sentence on charges including harming national security and rehabilitating Nazism. He was sent to Penal Colony No. 1, endured solitary confinement and faces harsh conditions.
Read at www.dw.com
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