A solidarity rally with political prisoner journalist, activist of the Polish minority Andrzej Poczobut and other Belarusian political prisoners took place on the square near the monument to Jerzy Popeluszko in Bialystok.
The action was organized by the Union of Poles of Belarus and the Podlaskie department of the Society “Wspólnota Polska”. Department head Anna Ketlinska: “Andrzej is in bad conditions, true, political conditions, but this also gives hope that suddenly something will change…”
Anna Ketlinska also said that in Belarus there are still problems of learning Polish for those who wish, obstacles to the work of Polish schools have not been eliminated.
The majority of those present at the rally are representatives of the Belarusian diaspora. About 40 people gathered in total.
There is an appeal to all media outlets to talk widely about the problems of political prisoners in Belarus and call on the world to facilitate their release.
Marek Zaniewski, vice-chairman of the Union of Poles in Belarus: “The situation is difficult, Andrzej is in the punishment cell. Relatives in Belarus may have problems for participating in our actions. But it’s worth talking about the problems of political prisoners in Belarus.”
Human rights activist Uladzimir Khilmanovich took the floor. He talks about his joint activities with Andrzej Poczobut in Belarus. Khilmanovich also remembered the mother of political prisoner Witold Ashurak, Alena Ashurak, who died today.
The floor was taken by Uladzimir Laptsevich, a member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, who stressed the importance of such actions. He said that more could be done, we need to look for ways. Talk to the Polish and EU authorities. The BAJ member urged his colleagues to work as much as possible with the topic of political prisoners, to make it a frequent topic.
On February 8, 2023, a journalist and activist of the Union of Poles of Belarus was sentenced by the Lukashenka’s court to eight years in a high-security colony for “inciting hostility” and “rehabilitating nazism”, as well as “for calling for sanctions”. The activist was arrested on March 25, 2021 and has been behind bars for 37 months.