Jury

Andrzej Poczobut

Born in Belarus in 1973, a journalist and a former political prisoner. He has worked with various Belorussian and Polish periodicals. Since 2006 he has worked as staff correspondent at Gazeta Wyborcza in Belarus; winner of numerous Polish and Belarusian journalist prizes; Journalist of the Year in Poland, 2011. He is the author of System Białoruś, the book on the backstory behind Lukashenko’s seizure of power and holding it for more than 20 years.  For his journalist investigations he has been repeatedly persecuted by the Belarusian authorities. In 2011, he was arrested by the Belarussian KGB and accused of libel against the Belarusian President. He was kept in jail for three months and was sentenced to three years in prison with two years suspended. He has been recognized as a political prisoner by Amnesty International.