- The representatives of the NMPT spoke with 33 out of 48 detainees about the protests after the arrest of an activist from the “Stop Bzdurom” group
- Detainees indicated inadequate actions taken by the police and the chaos that prevailed at police stations
- Not all of those detained participated in the protests in Krakowskie Przedmieście and ul. wolfish
Representatives of the National Cake Prevention Mechanism visited the detainees in Warsaw and Piaseczno. Their purpose was to check the conditions in which the inmates were and to find out whether the so-called minimum anti-torture guarantees.
The employees of the NMPT visited the detainees who were in arrests on the streets: Nowolipie, Żeromskiego, Żytnia, Janowskiego and Jagiellońska in Warsaw and in Piaseczno. In total, 33 out of 48 detained persons were interviewed.
Chaos among the police and random detainees
Among the detained there were, among others people who did not actively participate in the assembly in Krakowskie Przedmieście or ul. Wolf.
“Some of these people had rainbow emblems (bags, pins, flags). Among the detainees, however, there were also bystanders who, for example, went to the store at a given moment and returned with their purchases” – you can read in the announcement available on the Ombudsman’s website.
All the detained indicated the enormous chaos among the police officers. “At the time of their capture, they were not given the reasons for their detention,” the press release noted. It was also stated that the detained persons had not been informed of where they would be transported.
All the people who spoke with the representatives of the NMPT pointed to the enormous chaos among the Police officers. At the time of their capture, they were not given any reasons for their arrest. Later, it was pointed out to “breach of the so-called covid law”.
“Ultimately, most of the detained were accused of committing an act under Art. 254 of the Criminal Code, i.e. participating in a gathering with the awareness that its participants jointly committed a violent attack on a person or property” – you can read
In many cases – as reported – these people were transported from one command to another. And the time between detention and imprisonment was up to 12 hours. Some of the interviewees were questioned at night. Some people were sent to the Pdr in the morning, where they slept on hard bunks, without a blanket and mattress, without food and water.
Brutal officers? Accusations against the police
The information received by the representatives of the NMPT shows that the officers’ approach to detained persons was very different. There were opinions that the policemen professionally performed their tasks. There were even opinions that some policemen were ashamed to act. However, there were also voices pointing to the cutting, homophobic and transphobic comments.
Several interviewees pointed to the brutality of the officers at the time of their arrest. “Some people talked about being beaten in police cars. Some people had visible injuries that were documented by representatives of the NMPT” – you can read in the published report.
The detainees indicated that inadequate means of direct coercion had been used against them – e.g. putting handcuffs on the hands on the back during transport, or throwing them on the ground to handcuff them.
The information stated that most of the detained persons were subjected to a personal inspection, which consisted of stripping naked and performing a squat. In the case of a trans-girlfriend, the inspection was carried out by a male officer.
No access to legal aid
As indicated, in terms of access to legal aid, a problem that has been noticed by the NMPT for years has become apparent, i.e. the lack of contact with an attorney / legal advisor from the very first moments of detention. Were it not for the sacrifice of the lawyers who reached the police station on their own initiative, the detainees would in fact not be able to benefit from legal aid. Many people have never had contact with lawyers before.
The interlocutors also indicated difficulties in providing information about the detention to relatives. They said that they had to know their phone numbers by heart, because some of them were not allowed to find contacts on their cell phones, in other cases only their parents were allowed to be contacted.
Detailed conclusions from the visits – as announced – will be presented at a later date.
Source: Website of the Ombudsman
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Michał Sz., Introducing himself as Małgorzata Sz, pseudonym Margot
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