“First of all, I want to express my solidarity with everyone affected by this harassment. That is probably the mildest word that can be used here. At the same time, I am making a promise to clarify these circumstances, whether after a change of government or still within the current parliament,” said Krzysztof Bosak on TV Republika.
For several days, journalists from TV Republika have been subjected to a campaign of harassment connected to false emergency reports. The culmination of these incidents came on Friday, when police entered the apartment-office of TV Republika CEO Tomasz Sakiewicz. Officers responding to a report concerning an allegedly endangered child reportedly had no visible identification, refused to identify themselves, and handcuffed the station president’s assistant.
One of the first politicians to openly defend those targeted by the harassment was Krzysztof Bosak. The Confederation co-leader appeared as a guest on Monday’s episode of Sakiewicz’s Office.
“First of all, I want to express my solidarity with everyone affected by this harassment. That is probably the mildest word that can be used here. At the same time, I am making a promise to clarify these circumstances, whether after a change of government or still within the current parliament,”
he began.
He accused “the government and the ministry of failing to do what should be done.”
“Perhaps it would be worthwhile to appoint a liaison officer for contact with the victims. It is clear that this is an organized operation. Some experts from the ministry should be available via a hotline to de-escalate the situation. Setting aside the distress experienced by you, Mr. Editor, other journalists, your associates, and their families, this is a disaster for public trust in the state,”
he said.
Bosak emphasized that:
“This not only makes it appear as though we are defenseless, but also as though the government is passively standing by while citizens who are simply doing their jobs are being harassed.”
He added that:
“If there is any lead or indication that foreign intelligence services may have been involved, and it seems those in power would like us to believe that, then counterintelligence is also the responsibility of the Internal Security Agency.”
Bosak then asked whether anyone from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) had contacted them. Sakiewicz denied that this had happened.
Bosak continued:
“The current government will not rule forever. Regardless of who comes after them, all of these situations must be remembered, documented, and lessons must be drawn from them. It cannot be the case that civil rights are respected only when it aligns with the views of the person supervising a given service. We must have functioning state institutions that always guarantee civil rights and ensure that irregularities are always subject to judicial review.”