Police demand documentation from the publisher of Gazeta Polska — within a deadline of just three days. It regards the distribution of funds received from the Independent Media Foundation. “This letter bears all the hallmarks of illegality,” said EIC Tomasz Sakiewicz during an appearance on the station. It is important to emphasize that the matter concerns contractors, not individual supporters of TV Republika.
The District Police Headquarters of Warsaw IV has requested that the publisher of Gazeta Polska (Independent Polish Publishing House) provide documentation related to the allocation of funds obtained from the Independent Media Foundation.
“Our legal team’s response indicates that these actions are unlawful,” said Piotr Nisztor on TV Republika.
Similar requests have reportedly been sent to other contractors who have worked either with Gazeta Polska or the Independent Media Foundation — the foundation responsible for collecting financial contributions in support of TV Republika.
“This letter was sent on May 30, a Friday just before the election silence period, at a time when many believed Rafał Trzaskowski would win the presidential election. Things turned out differently,”
noted Tomasz Sakiewicz, Head of Republika and Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Polska.
“This letter bears all the hallmarks of illegality. First, it cites legal provisions that are not applicable to this situation. Such a request should be issued by a court or prosecutor — the police have no such authority unless there is an emergency. This is not such a case,” Sakiewicz stated.
“We are prepared for anything at this point. Various entities have received similar letters in the past few dozen hours. This appears to be a large-scale operation,” he added.
He also emphasized, “We have not been informed in what capacity we are involved in this matter.”
In its official response, the Independent Media Foundation stressed that the police letter “does not indicate in what capacity Independent Polish Publishing House or its representatives are to participate in the ongoing proceedings, which results in the absence of proper instructions regarding the rights of the entity and its authorized representatives.”
The response further states:
“According to Article 217 §1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, items that may serve as evidence — including documents — may be requested by a court or a prosecutor, and only in urgent cases may such a request be made by the police. Therefore, under this binding legal provision, your request is unjustified, as there is no indication that this is an urgent case — and indeed, your letter does not even claim such urgency.”
This means that only a court or prosecutor is authorized to request the release of such documents.