On January 25 about 15 Belarusians and Poles in Bialystok took part in a picket of solidarity with political prisoner journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus Andrzej Poczobut, as well as all Belarusian political prisoners. The speakers stressed that the Lukashenka regime stops at nothing, increasing repression.
There were not very many people present at the picket compared to previous similar rallies. But the speeches of the speakers were no less fiery, imbued with words of solidarity with Belarusian political prisoners, in particular with Andrzej Poczobut, who has been in the prisons of Lukashenka for 34 months. What news do you have from him? With this question I turned to his friend, the Grodno journalist Jan Roman, who conducted the action.
“We know what was known before. He is not receiving the appropriate medications, and there are problems meeting with a lawyer. It happens that a lawyer arrives, but they don’t let him in. It is still located in a chamber-type room. In February if everything goes well, his six-month stay in this room will expire. And it is unknown what the fate will be, what the authorities will come up with to punish additionally.
The Polish authorities are constantly trying by diplomatic means, in other ways, to free Andrzej Poczobut. During her press conference, the Marshal of the Senate recalled Andrzej and said that she very much hopes that he will be free soon. We also hope. I think these are not empty words of such an influential person in Poland, who knows what she is saying when she speaks”.
Anna Ketlinska, head of the Podlaskie department of the “Wspólnota Polska”, told about the vision of the situation with political persecution and the Polish minority in Belarus from Poland and in particular from Bialystok.
“As we look at what is being done in Belarus, what is being done with Andrzej Poczobut, what is being done with the Polish minority, we clearly see that the regime of Alexander Lukashenka is doing everything to scare society and to push the Belarusian community and the Polish community in Belarus in some way”.
