Journalist and a Union of Poles in Belarus activist Andrzej Poczobut said in a letter he wrote in prison he was waiting for a court ruling and expecting to be sent to a penal colony. The letter was published on Monday by Viasna Human Rights Centre, on Telegram Messenger banned by Belarusian regime ran by president Alexander Lukashenko.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) informed in mid-August that Andrzej Poczobut's criminal case would soon be referred to a court.
Poczobut was detained in March, 2021, as part of a government crackdown on Polish minority in Belarus. Leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus Andżelika Borys had been also arrested at the time, but she was released in March this year. Three other activists from regional branches of the organisation were also released, but forced to leave Belarus.
"Thanks for the memory and concern regarding my fate. Obviously, it's very nice to know you weren't forgotten, even though my captivity has lasted 17 months. Things are stable. Prison, cell, bars - all of it is already familiar and homely :)" - Poczobut wrote.
He also said that changes were likely to come soon and he would stand trial.
"I'm under no illusion as to the outcome (of the trial - edit.), I will calmely hear the verdict and go to the labor camp with clear conscience. Well, such is my fate. I always knew that when times like these come to Belarus, I will end up in prison. As my current reality shows, I was not wrong," the incarcerated journalist said in the letter.
He added that there were "many interesting people" alongside him in the prison he could have a conversation with.
Belarusian human rights organisations, Polish authorities and the international community have called the persecution of Polish minority in Belarus activists as "politically motivated" show trials being part of a wave of attacks on civic society in Belarus and freedom of speech.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP