The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Vladimir Makei stated at a press conference that the Belarusian authorities wanted to release Andrzej Poczobut and Andzelika Borys from the unregistered Union of Poles in Belarus.



Andzelika Borys, the chairman of the unregistered in Belarus, and her colleague, journalist Andrzej Poczobut, have been in jail for almost a year.

Now both are in the pre-trial detention center of Zhodzina prison.



Makei said that the Belarusian side received an alarmed reaction to the state of health of Poles in prison.

However, law enforcement agencies assured that Boris and Poczobut's health was not in danger.

The minister added that there were certain agreements with the special services to release the representatives of the Polish minority, who were detained for allegedly violating the law.

Three women were released - Irena Bernatskaya, Anna Panisheva, Maria Tishkovskaya.

The fate of both Boris and Poczobut had to be decided in the same way, Makei assured.



"However, the Polish side decided to use this as an informational occasion and widely advertised the release of these people in the media and tried to use it for their ideological purposes," said the Belarusian Foreign Minister.

How the Belarusian-Polish conflict developed

  • On October 2, 2020, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry demanded to reduce the number of Polish and Lithuanian consuls in Belarus.

    By October 9, 32 Polish diplomats had left Belarus.

  • On October 29, Lukashenko accused Poland of inciting a revolution in Belarus and Polish President Andrzej Duda of rigging the election.

  • On December 21, Belarus closed its entry and exit borders, including with Poland.

    The official cause is coronavirus.

  • On March 12, 2021, Anna Panishava, the principal of a private Polish school in Brest, was detained at the Belarusian-Polish border.

    She was charged with "inciting national or religious hatred" (Part 3, Article 130 of the Criminal Code).

    She is in custody.

  • On March 13, at the request of the Belarusian authorities, two more Polish consuls left Hrodna, including the Consul General of Poland in Hrodna Jaroslav Ksyonzhek.

    The reasons are that the Polish consul took part in an event in memory of the "cursed soldiers" in Brest.

    The last Polish consul remained in Hrodna.

    In response, Poland announced that it was sending two Belarusian consuls to Belarus.

  • On March 23, Andzelika Borys, chairwoman of the unregistered Union of Poles in Belarus (UPB), was detained in Hrodna.

  • On March 24, Andzelika Borys was sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest for holding a traditional Kaziuka holiday in Hrodna.

  • On March 25, members of the unregistered UPB Andrzej Poczobut (Hrodna), Irena Bernatskaya (Lida), and Maria Tishkovskaya (Vaukavysk) were detained.

  • The Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case "for inciting religious and national hatred" (Part 3 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code) against Andzelika Borys and others.

    Borys, Poczobut, Byarnatskaya, Tishkouskaya are on Valadarka as suspects.

  • On March 29, it became known that the Smorgon prosecutor's office was inviting lists of students and teachers of Polish language courses.

    The request is dated March 25.

    Private Polish language schools report that they are being inspected all over Belarus.

  • On March 31, human rights activists recognized Boris, Poczobut, Bernatskaya, Tishkovskaya, and Panisheva as political prisoners.

  • On April 6, Lukashenko complained to Poland that its authorities accused official Minsk of rigging the election and "supported traitors and extremists."