Stories from Terespol · Poland

A prisoner exchange involving five Polish and Moldovan nationals has been completed at the Polish-Belarusian border. The swap follows recent tensions regarding the border region.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Andrzej Poczobut at the border, according to reports from Belarusian state media and social media posts by Tusk. Journalist Andrzej Poczobut appears significantly thinner and emaciated in a recent photograph. The source noted he looks different than in 2021 when he was first imprisoned by the Belarusian regime. The discussion mentioned he has experienced torture during his five-year imprisonment. He is seen smiling in the image despite his physical state. Belarusian state media reported that Alexander Lukashenko ordered the KGB to include Poczobut on a list of individuals eligible for prisoner exchange following requests from his mother and the Union of Poles in Belarus. The order follows requests from Poczobut's mother and the head of the Union of Poles in Belarus, Andrzej Kiboryz. The move was described as a procedural step in the media.