In February 2022, Polish police officer Tomasz Waszczuk barred left-liberal Civic Coalition MPs Klaudia Jachira and Urszula Zielińska from entering a restricted zone near the Poland-Belarus border. Now, Waszczuk has been formally charged with “exceeding his authority.”
Notably, the prosecutor’s office initially refused to initiate an investigation and later discontinued it. However, after a change in power in Poland to a left-liberal government, the same prosecutor revisited the case and sent an indictment to the court.
Waszczuk, who voluntarily left the police force in February after anticipating potential legal action following the governmental shift, could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
The former police officer defended his actions in an interview with Onet.pl, stating that Jachira and Zielińska lacked the necessary permissions issued by the local Border Guard commander, insisting he was merely fulfilling his duties and would do so again.
MP Klaudia Jachira expressed her surprise and approval of the charges being brought and the case’s referral to court. The indictment, filed in late May at the Warsaw District Court, accuses the former police officer of “exceeding his powers by unjustifiably denying the MPs entry at the Białowieża checkpoint, thereby preventing them from performing their legislative duties in their registered office in Białowieża, thus harming both public and private interests.”
The case has sparked significant political reactions, with conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party officials offering legal support to Waszczuk and condemning the charges as an abuse of power and harassment of law enforcement personnel by the current administration.
