"All The Red Lights Came On"

• 17.09.2026, 10:24

Pochobut described how he was checked at the border when entering Belarus.

Andrei Pochobut, a former political prisoner and activist in the Polish diaspora who traveled to Belarus, spoke to the YouTube channel Kanał Zero about the border check.

Pochobut said that while going through passport control, “when they entered my information into the system, every single red warning light they had lit up.”

“A minute later, a border guard captain approached and told me I needed to go with him for an interview and make sure to bring my phone. Regarding the phone, I said, ‘Yes, I have it with me, but there’s one problem—it’s locked, and I don’t know how to unlock it.’”

So, we got there, and the first question they asked was: When am I leaving to go back? I think that was the very first question, as far as I can remember. I replied, “Well, that’s a strange question, because I’m just arriving, and actually, I’m here to stay” (laughs). Well, then a phone rang—the cell phone of one of those “stern gentlemen.” He went out, came back after a while, then went out again, then again…”—Pochobut recounted.

He added that three people were questioning him—two in border guard uniforms and one in plain clothes:

“As I understand it, he was the one representing some kind of special service, but I don’t know exactly which one. I suspect it might have been the KGB—I assume it was the KGB—but I don’t know for sure. And the conversation with me didn’t really go anywhere.”

According to him, the conversation in a separate room lasted about ten minutes:

“Then they told me I could go, so I left.”