Andrzej Poczobut

On 21 June 2012, he was arrested in Grodno on another charge of libel against the president, this time for a story criticizing the government's handling of the 2011 Minsk Metro bombing for the independent news site Charter 97. The charge carried a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment. Poczobut was released on bail after a week in detention, but was told a trial against him would still be forthcoming.

A correspondent for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Poczobut has been arrested more than a dozen times by the government of Belarus. In 2011, he was sentenced to a fine and fifteen days in prison for "participation in the unsanctioned protest rally" following the 2010 presidential election. In 2011 and 2012, he was arrested and detained for allegedly libeling President Alexander Lukashenko in his reports. The charges against Poczobut received international condemnation, with groups including the European Parliament, Reporters Without Borders, and Amnesty International issuing statements in his support.

In March 2011 the Belarusian government told him that if he did not stop reporting on the administration of Alexander Lukashenko, he would be prosecuted. His accreditation from the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs was revoked. He argued that his work is protected by his constitutional rights.

Poczobut was arrested again on 6 April 2011, this time on libel charges. The charges stemmed from ten reports about the president Poczobut had published on his blog, in Gazeta Wyborcza, and on the website Belaruspartisan.org.

On 5 July 2011, he was found guilty and given a suspended three-year prison sentence. Poczobut attributed the suspension of his sentence to international pressure, including a statement on his behalf by the EU. Amnesty International also denounced Poczobut's prosecution and named him a prisoner of conscience. RSF called for his conviction to be overturned, calling him "a closely-watched victim of President Lukashenko's persecution of journalists". Poczobut appealed the verdict, but lost the appeal on 20 September.

In November 2011, the Polish radio station Radio ZET awarded him its Andrzej Wojciechowski prize for his journalism. Because Poczobut was forbidden to leave Belarus, his wife accepted the award on his behalf.

On 19 December 2010, Belarus held a disputed presidential election in which President Alexander Lukashenko was elected to a fourth term, which resulted in widespread opposition protests. On 12 January 2011, the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB) arrested Poczobut for "participation in the unsanctioned protest rally". He was fined 1.75 million Belarusian rubles (US$580) the following day. The KGB also raided his house and confiscated his computer and documents. Andrzej argued that he was acting as a journalist during the rally. On 11 February, he was tried a second time for the same charge, and given a sentence of fifteen days in prison.

Poczobut is married to Aksana Poczobut. He has a daughter (born c. 2001) and a son (born February 2011).

Andrzej Poczobut (Belarusian: Андрэй (Анджэй) Пачобут Andrej (Andzhej) Pačobut, born 16 April 1973 in Vyalikaya Byerastavitsa) is a Belarusian and Polish journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus. He lives in Hrodna, Belarus.