“Today in the Senate, there will be information from the Minister of the Interior and Administration regarding the actions of services at the premises of independent media. It has just been added as the penultimate item on the agenda of the current sitting”, wrote Marek Pęk, a senator of Law and Justice (PiS), on social media.
A massive wave of false alarms, triggering emergency service interventions, has targeted TV Republika and its journalists. Police officers entered the home of TV Republika CEO Tomasz Sakiewicz, handcuffing his assistant. The police reported that a 53-year-old man had been detained in connection with the false alarms but was later released, with authorities claiming his personal data had been stolen and that he is another victim in the case. Another – because two YouTubers claim their data has also been used to trigger false alarms, and that this has been happening for quite some time.
Moreover, the Niezalezna.pl portal revealed new information today regarding the intervention at the home of Tomasz Sakiewicz, CEO of TV Republika. Although earlier reports suggested that the services’ actions were related to an email containing a suicide attack threat, the latest findings indicate that the police intervened only after a later “red alert” issued via the Child Rights Ombudsman’s hotline.
Detailed police records have been obtained, allowing the course of events to be reconstructed almost minute by minute. However, several unresolved issues emerge from the documents – including why officers activated their body cameras only after some time and whether the prosecutor’s office will decide to release the full recording of the intervention. The case also involves a thread concerning the activities of the Internal Security Agency (ABW).
On Tuesday, the Minister of the Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, announced that a lawsuit had been filed against TV Republika. The issue concerns the disclosure of the identity of one of the police officers who refused to identify himself during the intrusion into the home of Tomasz Sakiewicz. Jarosław Olechowski, head of the station’s editors, responded to Kierwiński’s post, stating that Republika had presented publicly available data.
Kierwiński to present information in the Senate
Independent media and the opposition have been demanding an urgent government response for several days regarding the attacks on journalists from the House of Free Speech media outlets. However, apart from mocking comments or attempts to ignore the matter, no action has been taken so far.
On Wednesday, Stanisław Karczewski, a senator of Law and Justice (PiS), wrote on platform X: “The PiS senators’ club has submitted a motion for urgent information from the Minister of the Interior and Administration regarding the actions of services at the premises of independent media. What has happened recently at @RepublikaTV and @wPolscepl must be explained!”
On Thursday morning, shortly after the Senate session began, Marek Pęk, also a Law and Justice (PiS) senator, stated:
“Today in the Senate, there will be information from the Minister of the Interior and Administration regarding the actions of services at the premises of independent media. It has just been added as the penultimate item on the agenda of the current sitting.”