Man arrested near Constitutional Court presented to prosecutors. Police seek detention
A man arrested on Friday at the Constitutional Court has been charged with assaulting a police officer and attempting to influence his actions. Police are requesting his remand in custody.
Man presented to court — police seek remand in custody
Piotr W. was arrested on Friday 7 June near the Constitutional Court on Marszałkowska Street in Warsaw. According to wiadomosci.wp.pl he will be transferred to the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw Śródmieście, where further proceedings will take place and he will be questioned. Police plan to file a request for remand in custody.
The spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, prosecutor Piotr Antoni Skiba, confirmed that the arrested man will be handed over to the duty prosecutor. The man has been charged under Article 224 in conjunction with Article 222 of the Criminal Code — the charges concern attempting to influence the actions of police officers and assaulting them.
Course of arrest and objects found
Police officers securing the gathering at the Constitutional Court arrested the man after he allegedly attacked a female officer, according to police. The woman suffered a head injury and was taken to hospital. On Saturday the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Command released footage from a body camera of one of the responding officers, which shows the man refusing to comply with a request to present identification, then pushing police officers and running away. Officers restrain him in the foyer of a building on the same street. During a search, a knife was found on the arrested man.
The recording contains shouts of "They attacked me" and "You are suffocating me". Police also released a recording of a conversation with the arrested man, in which he allegedly stated that he did not know his lawyer.
Defence position and appeal
Lawyers Bartosz Malewski and Magdalena Prządka-Leszczyńska announced that they have filed a request for full access to the case files and the right to make photocopies. They plan to question members of the medical rescue team who transported the arrested man by ambulance to hospital. The defence also announced an appeal against the manner of conducting the proceedings within seven days of arrest.
Piotr W. issued a statement in which he demanded contact with his wife and the lawyers appointed by her. He claimed that he had not received a copy of the arrest protocol or information about planned procedures. He complained of severe headache, weakness and wounds, while questioning the extent of the medical assistance provided to him. The Warsaw Metropolitan Police Command denied information about a cut on the arrested man's head.
Political context and demonstration
The course of the arrest was criticised by the leader of Law and Justice. MP Marek Jakubiak stated that he was a witness to the beating of the man. Marek Suski, citing accounts from witnesses, claimed that Piotr W. had been suffocated and lost consciousness. On Friday evening, PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczyński and MPs from his party arrived at the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Command.
On Saturday, a demonstration took place in front of the Constitutional Court's headquarters in connection with the political dispute surrounding the court. Those taking part in it included Jarosław Kaczyński and the head of the Presidential Office Paweł Szefernaker. Some of the protesters then proceeded to the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Command, chanting the slogan "free Piotr".
Position of the Interior Ministry
Marcin Kierwiński, head of the Interior Ministry and Administration, published a statement on Saturday evening on the X platform: "Anyone who attacks or insults a police officer will be held accountable with the full severity of the law. Without exception. Without leniency".
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)