“Poland Closes Eastern Border to Trucks from Belarus and Russia in Retaliation for Journalist’s Sentence”

Poland will close its eastern border to trucks registered in Belarus and Russia until further notice, according to an order published today by the Polish Ministry of the Interior, Reuters reported, citing BTA.

The move comes in retaliation after Belarus’ Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s eight-year prison sentence against a Polish opposition journalist. This further increased the tension between the two countries, which was partly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to the Polish authorities, the decision is necessary to “guarantee public security”.

The regulation dealing with border control does not mention the case of convicted journalist Andrzej Pochobut. However, Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski tweeted that he would add several hundred Belarusian officials to the sanctions list because of the verdict.

“In connection with the confirmation of the draconian sentence in the case of Andrzej Pochobut, I will announce on Monday my decision to include in the list of sanctions several hundred representatives of the Lukashenko regime responsible for political repression, including against Poles living in Belarus,” he wrote on Twitter Kaminsky, quoted by TASS.

Earlier, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said it was possible that the convicted journalist could be transferred to Poland, provided that wanted Belarusian opposition activists were returned to Minsk.

Pochobut was detained in the spring of 2021. In October 2022, the State Security Committee of Belarus included him in the list of people involved in terrorist activities.

On February 8, the District Court of the city of Grodno sentenced Pochobut to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of publicly calling for actions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus, as well as distributing materials containing such calls, with the help of mass media. He was also found guilty of willfully inciting enmity and discord.

Today, the Supreme Court of Belarus rejected the appeal against the journalist’s sentence.

Poland has already closed some border crossings with Belarus, in response to Pochobut’s effective sentence and the expulsion of Polish diplomats from Minsk.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Minsk has previously said Poland’s decisions to close border crossings are pointless and dangerous, accusing Warsaw of causing major delays along the border and failing to implement bilateral agreements.

Poland has been a haven for opponents of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Warsaw has become one of Kiev’s staunchest supporters since Russia, Belarus’ main ally, invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Poland also accuses Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis at the border by bringing in people from the Middle East and Africa and trying to push them across the Polish border, Reuters noted.

Although the number of migrants crossing is lower than at the peak of the crisis in 2021, Polish border guards report dozens of attempts to illegally enter Polish territory every day.