Poczobut’s daughter received the Sakharov Prize in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on behalf of her father

Jana Poczobut, daughter of the journalist imprisoned in Belarus, Andrzej Poczobut, received on Tuesday in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on behalf of her father, the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. In turn, on behalf of the imprisoned Georgian journalist Mzii Amaglobeli, the prize was received by another journalist, Irma Dimitradze.

Poczobut was nominated for the prize by the European People’s Party group, to which Civic Platform and the Polish People’s Party belong, as well as by the European Conservatives and Reformists group, to which Law and Justice belongs. The winners were chosen in October by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament, which includes the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the leaders of the political groups.

“It is a great honor to stand here today and receive this award on behalf of my father. For almost five years my family has been living in the face of silence and uncertainty, without the person we love. Today I would like to express my deep gratitude to the European Parliament for remembering him – and for remembering all the families who live with the same unanswered questions,” said Jana Poczobut in the European Parliament.

Dimitradze read out a speech by Mzii Amaglobeli addressed to the MEPs. “I accept (this award) on behalf of my fellow journalists who are fighting today in Georgia to save journalism. They work tirelessly so that you can hear the voice of resistance of Georgian citizens and so that the truth is not silenced,” she emphasized.

In her letter, Amaglobeli also referred to the authorities of Georgia. “This regime is ruthless (…). It is destroying free journalism, eliminating opposition political parties and imprisoning their leaders, effectively dismantling non-governmental organizations, and labeling the people who work in them as foreign agents (…). However, it has not managed to silence the protests,” she wrote.

Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and activist of the Polish minority in Belarus, was arrested in March 2021, and on 8 February 2023 he was sentenced for ‘activities harmful to the interests of the state’ (among other things for calling the attack of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Poland in 1939 an act of aggression and for materials documenting the protests in 2020) to eight years in a high-security penal colony.

Poland is demanding that the authorities of Belarus release Poczobut and other political prisoners.

Mzia Amaglobeli is a Georgian journalist and head of the independent news portals Batumelebi and Netgazeti. She was arrested in January this year for taking part in anti-government protests in Georgia. In August she was sentenced to two years in prison.

She is considered the first political prisoner in Georgia since the country gained independence. As a defender of freedom of speech, Amaglobeli has become a symbol of the pro-democratic protest movement in Georgia, opposing the rule of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party after the parliamentary elections of October 2024, which, according to the opposition, were rigged.

The Andrieja Sacharowa Prize, established in 1988, is the European Union’s highest award in the field of human rights. It is awarded to individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the defense of freedom of speech, human rights and democracy. Among the previous laureates are, among others, the former president of South Africa who brought about the abolition of apartheid, Nelson Mandela, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the leader of the anti-Kremlin opposition in Russia, Alexei Navalny, and the activist for the rights of the Uyghur minority in China, Ilham Tohti.

Members of the European Parliament have already adopted several resolutions condemning the repression in Belarus. In them, they demand the release of political prisoners (their number is estimated at over 1,000), condemn President Aleksandra Łukaszenki’s complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and call for tougher sanctions and support for Belarusian democratic forces, independent media and human rights defenders.

As for Georgia, which since 2023 has been a candidate country for membership in the European Union, MEPs in their resolutions have strongly condemned the democratic backsliding in this country and the repressive regulations (such as the “foreign agents” law), attacks on freedom of speech and the press, and repression of peaceful protests. They also called for the October 2024 elections, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory, to be held again. (16.12.2025)