Belarus frees journalist Andrzej in prisoner swap

Prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut has been released from jail in Belarus in a swap with Poland that also saw a total of 10 prisoners released as the authoritarian leader of Belarus seeks improved relations with the West, officials in both countries said on Tuesday.

Poczobut, a correspondent for the influential Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and a leading figure among Belarus' Polish minority, was serving eight years in prison in a case condemned as politically motivated.

His arrest in 2021 drew widespread criticism from Europe, and he was later awarded the European Union's most prestigious human rights award, the Sakharov Prize.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski described Poczobut as a symbol of the fight for freedom in Belarus but also of the effectiveness of the Polish state in leaving no one behind.