{
  "id": 155,
  "slug": "2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence",
  "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut is sentenced to eight years for inciting hatred",
  "occurred_on": "2023-02-08",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "BY",
  "country": "BY",
  "continent": "europe",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
  "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Poczobut had been a longtime commentator and producer for programs on the Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia, reporting on Belarus for a Polish-speaking audience.",
  "outcome": "reversed",
  "outcome_on": "2026-04-28",
  "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed on April 28, 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange involving eight countries, before completing his eight-year sentence.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "A Belarusian court sentenced dual Belarusian-Polish journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, and he was freed three years later as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange.{c:612}{c:613}{c:614}{c:615}",
  "what_happened": "On February 8, 2023, a Belarusian court sentenced journalist Andrzej Poczobut, who holds both Belarusian and Polish citizenship, to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions said to be aimed at harming Belarus's national security. Poczobut, a political commentator and producer for the program Nad Niemnem on the independent broadcaster Belsat TV and on Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia, had been imprisoned since March 2021. CPJ's Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, Gulnoza Said, said the sentence illustrated a continuing pattern of Belarusian government action against independent journalists. Poczobut was freed on April 28, 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange involving Poland, Belarus, the United States, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, in which ten prisoners were swapped at the Polish-Belarusian border. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the release, calling it the result of a two-year diplomatic effort.{c:612}{c:613}{c:614}{c:615}\n\nPoczobut was freed on April 28, 2026, after about five years in detention, as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange.{c:614}{c:615}",
  "stated_justification": "Not stated in the sources reviewed as a specific factual basis beyond the charges of \"inciting hatred\" and \"calling for sanctions aimed at harming national security.\"{c:612}{c:613}{c:614}{c:615}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "A journalist covering Belarus for a Polish-speaking audience was imprisoned for about five years before his release depended on a multi-country diplomatic exchange rather than any legal appeal.{c:612}{c:613}{c:614}{c:615}",
  "unknowns": "The source reviewed does not describe the specific statements by Poczobut that Belarusian authorities characterized as inciting hatred.",
  "status": "reversed",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-23T01:32:54Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 8,
  "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:17:25Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T02:21:14Z",
  "stage": "eliminate",
  "ladder_note": "A journalist was imprisoned for about five years on a hatred and sanctions charge, and his release required an eight-country prisoner exchange rather than any domestic legal process.",
  "country_name": "Belarus",
  "tactics": [
    "insult_and_defamation_laws"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
    "name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/alexander-lukashenko"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-23T01:32:54Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 3,
    "status": "reversed",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The source reviewed does not describe the specific statements by Poczobut that Belarusian authorities characterized as inciting hatred."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "alexander-lukashenko",
      "name": "Alexander Lukashenko",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/alexander-lukashenko"
    },
    {
      "slug": "donald-tusk",
      "name": "Donald Tusk",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/donald-tusk"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "belsat-tv",
      "name": "Belsat TV",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/belsat-tv"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "andrzej-poczobut",
      "name": "Andrzej Poczobut",
      "outlet": "belsat-tv",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/andrzej-poczobut"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 612,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 155,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "eight-year sentence, February 8, 2023",
      "statement": "The court sentenced Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 365,
      "evidence_quote": "Belarusian authorities' sentencing of journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison illustrates the government's never-ending cycle of repression against independent journalists.",
      "evidence_date": "2023-02-08",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
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      "superseded_by": null,
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      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:32:51Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 365,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2023/02/belarusian-authorities-sentence-journalist-andrzej-poczobut-to-8-years-in-prison-detain-journalist-anastasia-sharkevich/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/02/belarusian-authorities-sentence-journalist-andrzej-poczobut-to-8-years-in-prison-detain-journalist-anastasia-sharkevich/",
        "title": "Belarusian authorities sentence journalist Andrzej Poczobut to 8 years in prison, detain journalist Anastasia Sharkevich",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2023-02-08",
        "link_state": "live",
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/612"
    },
    {
      "id": 613,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 155,
      "field": "scope_of_action",
      "value": "Belsat and TVP Polonia work",
      "statement": "Poczobut was a commentator and producer for a program on the independent broadcaster Belsat TV and on Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 365,
      "evidence_quote": "political commentator and producer for Nad Niemnem, a TV program on Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia",
      "evidence_date": "2023-02-08",
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      "source": {
        "id": 365,
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        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/02/belarusian-authorities-sentence-journalist-andrzej-poczobut-to-8-years-in-prison-detain-journalist-anastasia-sharkevich/",
        "title": "Belarusian authorities sentence journalist Andrzej Poczobut to 8 years in prison, detain journalist Anastasia Sharkevich",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2023-02-08",
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    },
    {
      "id": 614,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 155,
      "field": "status",
      "value": "freed, April 28, 2026",
      "statement": "Poczobut was freed as part of a prisoner exchange at the Polish-Belarusian border involving eight countries.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 366,
      "evidence_quote": "Andrzej Poczobut is free! Welcome to your Polish home, my friend",
      "evidence_date": "2026-04-28",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
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      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
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        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2026/04/belarus-frees-journalist-andrzej-poczobut/",
        "title": "Belarus frees journalist Andrzej Poczobut",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2026-04-28",
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    {
      "id": 615,
      "subject_type": "incident",
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      "field": "status",
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      "statement": "Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the exchange as the result of a two-year diplomatic effort.",
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  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 365,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2023/02/belarusian-authorities-sentence-journalist-andrzej-poczobut-to-8-years-in-prison-detain-journalist-anastasia-sharkevich/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/02/belarusian-authorities-sentence-journalist-andrzej-poczobut-to-8-years-in-prison-detain-journalist-anastasia-sharkevich/",
      "title": "Belarusian authorities sentence journalist Andrzej Poczobut to 8 years in prison, detain journalist Anastasia Sharkevich",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2023-02-08",
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      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2026/04/belarus-frees-journalist-andrzej-poczobut/",
      "title": "Belarus frees journalist Andrzej Poczobut",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
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    {
      "id": 442,
      "url": "https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-summons-belarusian-envoy-after-journalist-is-jailed-2023-02-08/",
      "final_url": null,
      "title": "Poland summons Belarusian envoy after journalist is jailed",
      "publisher": "Reuters",
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  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut is sentenced to eight years for inciting hatred. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}