Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and activist representing the Polish minority in Belarus, has been named one of this year’s recipients of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded by the European Parliament. The second laureate is Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. Both are imprisoned for activities deemed anti-government by the authorities in their respective countries. On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, the prize was accepted on their behalf by family members and close associates during a ceremony at the European Parliament. The award aims to draw international attention to the situation of political prisoners and to increase pressure for their release.
On 16 December 2025, during a ceremonial session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Parliament President Roberta Metsola presented the 2025 Sakharov Prize. The award for Mzia Amaglobeli was accepted by her fellow journalist Irma Dimitradze. Amaglobeli was arrested in January 2025 for taking part in anti-government protests in Georgia. In a resolution adopted in June, the European Parliament called for her immediate and unconditional release, condemning actions by the Georgian Dream party against political opposition, independent media, and civil society. Andrzej Poczobut’s prize was accepted by his daughter, Jana.
“The Sakharov Prize for Andrzej Poczobut is an exceptional distinction which, from the perspective of us Poles living in Poland—especially in Białystok—and in the Grodno region of Belarus, carries special symbolic meaning,” said Anna Kietlińska, president of the Podlaskie branch of the ‘Wspólnota Polska’ Association, speaking to Newseria. “For more than five years we have been appealing to decision-makers and the media to highlight the situation of Andrzej Poczobut and other political prisoners in Belarus. Although many people have been released, Andrzej remains in prison. He is a Polish community activist and journalist who was sentenced by Alyaksandr Lukashenko and placed on a list of terrorists for his civic activity and social engagement.”
Andrzej Poczobut was detained in March 2021 in Grodno and has been imprisoned ever since. In February 2023, he was sentenced to eight years in a high-security penal colony. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but the verdict was upheld.
“Poczobut has been deprived of liberty for over five years,” Kietlińska said. “He spent time in detention centers and prisons and is now held in a high-security men’s penal colony in Novopolotsk. As we have repeatedly reported, he is additionally subjected to repression in the form of solitary confinement and frequent stays in punishment cells, which undoubtedly affects his health.”
In November, the Viasna Human Rights Centre reported that Poczobut suffers from arrhythmia and hypertension and has undergone surgery. Despite this, he was transferred for six months to a closed unit.
“Thanks to public awareness and diplomatic efforts, Andrzej now receives medication, which is already a small victory,” Kietlińska said. “We have very limited information about his health. He writes letters to his family, which is the only form of communication, but we know they are censored, so the information we receive is fragmentary.”
According to Viasna, since 2020 more than 7,840 criminal convictions with political motivations have been recorded in Belarus. Arrests and repression have continued since mass protests erupted following the disputed presidential election in 2020. As of 30 November 2025, Belarusian prisons held 1,222 political prisoners, including 199 women. Many are detained in inhumane conditions, with restrictions on visits, access to lawyers, phone calls, correspondence, and humanitarian parcels.
“In the European Parliament, Andrzej was represented by friends, and Mzia Amaglobeli by legal advocates,” noted Małgorzata Gosiewska, a Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice (PiS). “Andrzej has no independent lawyer and no right to one.”
“This prize and the media attention surrounding it highlight Andrzej Poczobut’s case, as well as the situation of the Polish minority in Belarus and independent journalism in the country,” Kietlińska emphasized. “Alongside Poczobut, many independent journalists linked to Belsat have been convicted in various trials, and many have been forced into exile. His recognition is a clear signal that their work mattered and deserves remembrance and respect from free societies.”
In a brief address to the European Parliament, Jana Poczobut thanked lawmakers for remembering her father and other families facing similar circumstances.
“Pressure in this case and expressions of solidarity from the European Union are invaluable,” said Robert Tyszkiewicz, coordinator for the Polish diaspora and Poles abroad at the Chancellery of the Polish Senate. “The Sakharov Prize is a powerful symbol of solidarity and a shield against persecution. Ales Bialiatski said after his release that perhaps the Nobel Prize saved him from physical abuse in prison. Such distinctions and gestures of solidarity are enormously important for those deprived of freedom and are a strong call for their release.”
Ales Bialiatski, founder and head of the Viasna Human Rights Centre and winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, was among 123 political prisoners released on 13 December 2025 under an agreement between the authorities in Minsk and the United States, in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. In his first interview after release, published by Viasna, Bialiatski stressed the need for continued pressure to end repression in Belarus. He warned that releasing some prisoners is not enough, as others continue to be detained, and that Lukashenko may use such releases to seek further concessions.
Members of the European Parliament have adopted several resolutions condemning repression against political prisoners in Belarus and calling for their release. In a 2023 resolution, they demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Andrzej Poczobut, stating that the charges against him are politically motivated and aimed at suppressing freedom of speech and association.
