Parliament President Roberta Metsola conferred the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Andrzej Poczobut, before the latter spoke to MEPs in a formal plenary sitting. The prize was originally awarded to him (and Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli) in December 2025, when both journalists were still in prison in their respective countries.
Welcoming Mr Poczobut, President Metsola said: “It is our honour to welcome Andrzej Poczobut to the European Parliament as a free man. The Sakharov Prize we awarded him last year recognised not only his courage, but the values he refused to abandon despite years of unjust imprisonment. His release gives hope, but it must also strengthens our resolve: wherever people are persecuted for speaking the truth, defending democracy or exercising their fundamental freedoms, Europe will not look away.”
Mr Poczobut said: “I want you to know that your voice is not only heard in the free world. It crosses the prison walls. (…) I learnt about being awarded the Sakharov Prize and about the European Parliament’s earlier statements whilst I was in prison. I also saw that your concern for my fate influenced the behaviour of the guards;. Thank you for that!”
The people of Belarus silenced
Referring to the multiple attacks on the Polish minority in Belarus, Mr Poczobut said these actions were part of “the anti-European crusade led by Alexander Lukashenka for decades..”
He then highlighted the complete absence of freedom of expression and of press in Belarus, the ban on critical international correspondents from staying in the country, and the stalking of critical voices on social media by government authorities. He also referred to the fate of the 854 political prisoners still detained in the country, including 21 journalists, before speaking more generally about the rise of authoritarianism in the world, calling for the immediate release in Georgia of his fellow 2025 Sakharov Prize laureate, Mzia Amaglobeli.
Mr Poczobut concluded: “The situation in Belarus is extremely dramatic.(…).I believe that it is precisely long-term efforts to promote democracy and human rights, active support for all grassroots initiatives in authoritarian states, and support for independent media – that will bring about the moment when the European continent is finally united and Belarus is part of Europe in more than just a geographical sense.”
Background
A representative of the Union of Poles in Belarus, the only Polish organisation still active in the country, and a historian and journalist working for more than 20 years, Andrzej Poczobut was imprisoned for several years, under difficult conditions, both for his activities in defence of the Polish language and culture, and for his journalism.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is named after the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov. Since 1988, Parliament has awarded this prize annually to individuals, groups or organisations for their outstanding work in support of human rights, freedom of expression and democratic values. In 2020, the European Parliament had already awarded the Sakharov Prize to the democratic opposition in Belarus.