MINSK, 12 September (BelTA) – The convict Andrei Pochobut can be handed over to Poland but Poland is unwilling to take him. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he met with representatives of various nationalities, who live in Belarus, BelTA has learned.
During the meeting the president made a few comments about Andrei Pochobut, who had been convicted in Belarus: “Pochobut, Pochobut, Pochobut! I said they can take him. But [Poland’s representative] said: ‘I will not go [to Belarus]. I don’t want to’. And they don’t want to take him back. The situation has simply become a political bargaining chip. When we invite them to take him, they say they don’t need it. And he says he would not go there. You know it. Poles have already said that,” the head of state said.
BelTA reported earlier that in February 2023 the Grodno Oblast Court convicted Andrei Pochobut on charges specified by part 3, article 361 and part 3, article 130 of the Criminal Code.
For many years the defendant worked in an illegal organization, which allegedly unites Poles in Belarus. He also contributed to the glorification of Armia Krajowa.
The Grodno Oblast Court found Andrei Pochobut guilty of public appeals for actions aimed at damaging the national security of the Republic of Belarus, guilty of dissemination of materials containing such appeals using mass media and the Internet. He was also found guilty of deliberate actions aimed at inciting national, religious and other social enmity and discord on the grounds of national, religious and other social affiliation committed by a group of persons.
Andrei Pochobut was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment to be served in a maximum-security prison colony.
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