Andrzej Poczobut and his son Yaroslav are surrounded by members of the media and supporters as he shows the victory sign in front of the court building in Grodno, Belarus. Photo:EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH
The final verdict in the case, which had been ongoing since mid-June, was passed with the court finding the Gazeta Wyborcza correspondent guilty on counts of defamation and libel arising from a number of articles the journalist had written.
After being greeted by a jubilant crowd, who greeted him with songs and applause, Andrzej Poczobut told Polish Radio that he was surprised to receive such a lenient sentence.
“I wasn’t expecting to go free today, I was rather expecting to be sentenced to a few years in prison,” Poczobut said.
“I think that the outcome of the case is a result of the pressure on the regime due to economic sanctions. Lukashenko believes in force, yet it was this force that made him realise that he has to respect citizens’ rights,” the Gazeta Wyborcza journalist commented.
Meanwhile, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the court verdict. “The very fact that Andrzej Poczobut was handed down any sentence at all should be condemned,” Ministry Spokesman Marcin Bosacki announced on Tuesday after the verdict was made public.
“There is no guilt here,” Bosacki said, adding that “this verdict was given at the end of a trial which is hard pressed to be called valid, and the country which undertook the proceedings is hard pressed to be a called a lawful state, considering the defendant did not have any chance to any de facto reasonable defence, and that the trial took place behind closed doors.”
Nearer the beginning of the trial, the head of the Union of Poles in Belarus, Angelika Orechwo said that “we can’t expect this to end well for Andrzej.” Speaking to Polish Radio after the trial ended, she said she was “amazed” at the verdict.
During Poczobut’s trial, a number of international organisations condemned the Belarusian authorities for the handling of the case, which took place behind closed doors.
The European Union, OSCE, Polish authorities and members of the opposition in Belarus have spoken in defence of the journalist. Amnesty International, a human rights organisation, also deemed Poczobut a prisoner of conscience. (jb)
Audio by Slawek Szefs