Poland has closed an important border crossing with Belarus. The decision came after the Polish parliament’s request to the interior minister. Poland also announced that it will add more people linked to Belarusian President Lukashenko to the sanctions list.
The justification for the measures is the conviction of a Polish journalist in Belarus. Andrzej Poczobut was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison for “inciting hatred and threatening national security”. In Belarus, Poczobut worked for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, where he regularly criticized the Lukashenko regime.
Minister Kaminski said the border crossing at Bobrowniki, 200 kilometers northeast of Warsaw, is closed until further notice “for state security reasons”. He did not disclose the details.
a series of lawsuits
Wyborcza’s conviction is part of a series of lawsuits brought against opposition leaders and other dissidents. The case against Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader, also began last month.
With the journalist’s conviction, the already weak relationship between Poland and Belarus came under further strain. Poland has been a key base for political refugees from Belarus in recent years, and Lukashenko claimed Poland was behind the protests over the 2020 election results. Also, Belarus is one of the few countries in the world to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, while Poland is a strong ally of Ukraine.
Ties culminated in 2021 when Poland and the European Union accused Belarus of causing a refugee crisis by forcing groups of refugees from Belarus to illegally cross the border. Under pressure from the Belarusian army, large groups of immigrants from Syria and Iraq were brought to the Polish border and later repulsed by the Polish border guards. At the time, this led to a diplomatic dispute between Belarus and the EU.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
