Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to eight years

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: reversed, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The sources reviewed do not detail the specific statements that formed the basis of the incitement charge.

Belarus sentenced Polish-Belarusian correspondent Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, after holding him since March 2021. He was freed five years later in a multi-country prisoner exchange.¹²³⁴

Country: Belarus (RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180)
Where: BY
Level of government: National
Tactic: Detention and violence
Stage: Eliminate (see the ladder)
Ladder note: Belarus sentenced a correspondent to eight years for reporting on its Polish minority and held him nearly five years before an exchange; comparable United States detentions in the record ended in hours, not years.
Head of government at the time: Alexander Lukashenko
Issue of the day: Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Outcome: Reversed, April 28, 2026. Poczobut was freed after 1,860 days as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange; CPJ reported 22 other journalists remained imprisoned in Belarus at the time.
Era: The 2020s

What happened

Andrzej Poczobut, a correspondent for Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza and a political commentator based in the Hrodna region of Belarus, had already faced repeated prosecution for his reporting on the country's Polish minority, including a suspended sentence for defamation and insulting the president in 2011. Belarusian security forces detained him again in March 2021. On February 8, 2023, a Belarusian court convicted him of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions against Belarus and sentenced him to eight years in prison. The same court proceedings led to the detention of another journalist, Anastasia Sharkevich, who appeared in a video circulated by a pro-government Telegram channel saying she had been arrested by security forces. Poczobut remained imprisoned for a total of 1,860 days before being freed on April 28, 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange involving Belarus, Poland and several other countries.¹²³⁴

Closed; Poczobut was released in a prisoner exchange after nearly five years in detention.³⁴

What reason was given

"convicted Poczobut of inciting hatred and 'calling for sanctions'"¹²³⁴

What changed for reporting

Poczobut's years-long imprisonment removed one of the last correspondents reporting for a foreign outlet on Belarus's Polish minority from inside the country.¹²³⁴

Timeline

2023

February 8, 2023

Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to eight years

Who acted

Name	Role in this incident	Office at the time
Alexander Lukashenko	other	President of Belarus

Outlets and journalists

Name	Kind	Relation
Anastasia Sharkevich	journalist	affected
Andrzej Poczobut	journalist, Belsat TV	affected

Sources

Belarusian authorities sentence journalist Andrzej Poczobut to 8 years in prison, detain journalist Anastasia SharkevichCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2023-02-08, reporting. Source record
Belarus frees journalist Andrzej PoczobutCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2026-04-28, reporting. Source record
Poland summons Belarusian envoy after journalist is jailedReuters, 2023-02-08, reporting. Source record

Claims cited

The formal basis of his conviction. convicted Poczobut of inciting hatred and "calling for sanctions," Belarusian authorities sentence journalist Andrzej Poczobut to 8 years in prison, detain journalist Anastasia Sharkevich, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2023-02-08. Claim 659, checked 2026-09-22.
CPJ's characterization of the sentence. Belarusian authorities' sentencing of journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison illustrates the government's never-ending cycle of repression Belarusian authorities sentence journalist Andrzej Poczobut to 8 years in prison, detain journalist Anastasia Sharkevich, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2023-02-08. Claim 660, checked 2026-09-22.
The total length of his detention before the 2026 exchange. Poczobut had been detained for 1,860 days, having been held since March 2021 before his February 2023 sentencing to eight years in prison. Belarus frees journalist Andrzej Poczobut, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2026-04-28. Claim 661, checked 2026-09-22.
Scale of ongoing imprisonment reported at the time of his release. 22 journalists remained imprisoned in Belarus as of April 28 Belarus frees journalist Andrzej Poczobut, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2026-04-28. Claim 662, checked 2026-09-22.