I like Andrzej a lot. First of all, we come from the same region, historic Hrodna district. Certain things, such as the co-existence of Belarusians and Poles in our multi-cultural region go without saying for us. Scary stories about the Poles trying to invade will not get through.

Second, I learned about Andrzej in the 1990s, the daring and awesome 1990s when they were playing in the Deviation band (a punk rock band organized by the Poczobut brothers in 1993. – Ed.). They were local stars for a young lad, singing mainly in Belarusian which seemed elite to a certain degree, if not bohemian.

Andrzej is older than me. We started working together before Pahonia was shut down and later, when Mikola Markevich and I returned from open prison, we decided to issue the Dzień newspaper.

I met Andrzej Poczobut when he came to work at Pahonia newspaper, I think. I immediately noticed that, despite his age, he was a complete, very deep and highly professional journalist.

He has education in law, but combined with the art of word and strong moral values it all yielded an excellent result. Andrzej could easily cover complex topics, dive deep in any of them.

Once he started working on a certain topic, he wouldn't stop until completed it. He could return to it once, twice, three times or whichever number of times it required to reach the goal.

He's a very brave, principled journalist. I remember probably one of the most serious attacks on our editorial office. It happened when Pahonia was already prohibited and we, the same team, issued Dzień newspaper. It was printed in Smolensk [Russia]. We prepared the materials and sent it to Smolensk for print, then went there to pick up the run and brought it back to Belarus.

It felt a lot like a war utilising the lowest, most brutal and harsh methods possible. We prepared the issue at night while several dozens of people were standing outside, in the dark, on guard for any threats. In the very centre of Hrodna, cars with no registration plates approached and people shouted from inside them threatening to kill all of us.

When I started working as a journalist and at the BAJ Andrzej was already a star journalist in Hrodna region. When Pahonia and other Hrodna publications were shut down in the 2000s I was still a school boy and we rallied with the Malady Front (Youth Front) at the Ministry of Information.

Life brought Andrzej and me together when I already worked at the Belarusian Association of Journalists and he had been on the BAJ Ethics Commission for a long time. He was back then and still is the leader of the Polish community in Hrodna region. He is a strong figure in the Hrodna region in general; people follow him. He is well known, he has always helped in both journalistic and legal issues, he supported many of his colleagues.

Andrzej and I once happened to travel on a journalist assignment together. We shared a hotel room and talked a lot. We have been friends since then. And even though we lived in different cities, we have always been in touch.

He is a many-sided man, he is an interesting interlocutor on many topics. He knows a lot of journalist stories, stories of Hrodna, he has great life and professional experience. We know him from his Belarusian side, but he also has a Polish side. He is well known and respected in Poland, he has influence in Polish structures and organisations.

When Andrzej was imprisoned before, Poland showed supernatural support, rallies. His previous imprisonment ended because of that, and it's ending was emblematic. First, he was released from the pre-trial detention facility and then, on the day Javier cyclone fell over Minsk, all the websites posted that the Poczobut case was closed. It was very, very good.