Repression in Poland by the State prosecution must stop

Written declaration No. 768 | Doc. 15753 | 27 April 2023

Signatories:

Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Ms Camilla FABRICIUS, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Sascha FAXE, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Tarja FILATOV, Finland, SOC ; Mr Paul GAVAN, Ireland, UEL ; Mr Mogens JENSEN, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Hilkka KEMPPI, Finland, ALDE ; Ms Franziska KERSTEN, Germany, SOC ; Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Finland, SOC ; Mr Didier MARIE, France, SOC ; Ms Octavie MODERT, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Simon MOUTQUIN, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Maud PETIT, France, ALDE ; Mr Thomas PRINGLE, Ireland, UEL ; Mr Alexander RYLE, Denmark, ALDE ; Mr Virendra SHARMA, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Tommy SHEPPARD, United Kingdom, NR ; Mr Krzysztof ŚMISZEK, Poland, SOC ; Ms Petra STIENEN, Netherlands, ALDE ; Ms Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR, Germany, SOC ; Mr Kim VALENTIN, Denmark, ALDE

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

In Resolution 2316 (2020) and Resolution 2359 (2021), the Parliamentary Assembly expressed concern regarding the politicisation of the state prosecution service in Poland. In two written declarations (Doc. 15458 and Doc. 15574), some Assembly members sounded the alarm about specific cases of repression. We are troubled to learn that the persecution of groups considered “inconvenient” by the authorities continues.

Women's rights and LGBT campaigners, like Justyna Wydrzyńska, Angelika Domańska or Bart Staszewski, are being targeted for their advocacy work promoting tolerance and human rights.

Journalists are being silenced, like Piotr Maślak, who criticised border guards for abusing rights of migrants, or Wojciech Czuchnowski of Gazeta Wyborcza, threatened by the state-owned PHH hotel holding for revealing its unlawful surveillance of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, opposition politicians and activist Bartosz Kramek.

The persecution of entrepreneurs like Piotr Osiecki and Przemysław Krych or, most recently, a business organisation president Maciej Witucki, continues. Actions against them, including raids by security services, arbitrary detention and criminal charges, not only harm individual entrepreneurs but also foster a hostile environment for entrepreneurship and investment.

We call on the Polish Government to end the harassment of individuals and organisations that exercise their right to free speech, peaceful assembly and entrepreneurship, and to provide compensation for damages suffered, most notably for any arbitrary detention.