Court refused to remand man detained at Constitutional Tribunal
Piotr W., detained on Friday near the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, is being released. The District Court did not approve temporary remand on the prosecutor's request.
Court refused to apply remand
The District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście did not grant the prosecutor's request to remand Piotr W., who was detained by Warsaw police on Friday near the Constitutional Tribunal. According to information provided by the man's lawyers, he has left custody and is being released.
The District Prosecutor's Office Warsaw Śródmieście charged Piotr W. with assaulting a police officer in circumstances threatening her life or health. It requested one month of remand, fearing that the suspect might flee or commit further crimes.
Circumstances of detention
Officers detained the man during an intervention in the area of the Constitutional Tribunal. Police reported that Piotr W. was behaving nervously and unnaturally. When officials attempted to check his identity, he ran into a building on Marszałkowska Street. Inside, he attacked a police officer, who sustained a head injury and was taken to hospital. A knife was found on the man during a search.
Court's position
The court ruled that the prosecutor had not demonstrated a high probability that Piotr W. had committed the alleged act — according to a statement by defence counsel Magdalena Majkowska posted on the X platform. The court also found no grounds for concern about flight or concealment. In the court's view, "proper course of proceedings can be secured by a non-custodial measure".
Information about the suspect
According to his defenders, Piotr W. had not been previously convicted and has a fixed place of residence. He is a member of a volunteer fire service and a former professional soldier. He participated in protests outside the Constitutional Tribunal. On Saturday, he denied guilt and refused to provide an explanation to the prosecutor, but gave a detailed explanation to his lawyers.
Defence counsel Bartosz Malewski indicated that "the events of Friday should be considered in the conditions of an incident", and the man's behaviour "lacked purposeful intent". In his view, this undermines the legal classification of the alleged acts adopted by the prosecutor.
According to wyborcza.pl, access to lawyers was the subject of dispute between police and the defence counsel. Piotr W. claimed that he was not precisely informed about who wanted to meet with him. In a statement circulated by Ordo Iuris, he stated that "I did not say that I did not want defence counsel".
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)