A prosecutor from the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) has brought charges against a former officer of the Citizens’ Militia (MO), Bolesław P., in connection with the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Antoni Browarczyk—one of the first victims of martial law. Investigators established that on December 17, 1981, the perpetrator fired at least 45 shots toward protesting civilians.
At the Gdańsk branch of the IPN, the director of the Main Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, prosecutor Andrzej Pozorski, presented new findings from the investigation into the fatal shooting of Antoni Browarczyk by officers of the Citizens’ Militia.
He stated that a prosecutor from the Szczecin branch of the Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation had decided to press charges against former second lieutenant of the Armed Forces of the Polish People’s Republic (now a captain), Bolesław P.
According to investigators, in 1981 in Gdańsk, while on patrol duty near the building of the Provincial Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR), he used a firearm (an AK-type automatic rifle), firing at least 45 rounds toward the “Hucisko” transport junction, where opponents of the introduction of martial law were protesting. In doing so, he participated in the actions of MO officers and exposed many people to an immediate risk of death or serious injury.
As a result of these actions, 20-year-old Antoni Browarczyk was killed, and three other individuals sustained severe injuries.
IPN investigators identified six former MO officers who opened fire on protesters that day. Five of them died between 2011 and 2019, which is why charges could only be brought against Bolesław P. He faces a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
The prosecutor also examined issues related to the obstruction of criminal proceedings in this case, as well as how the investigation was conducted by the Navy Prosecutor’s Office in 1981–1982. It was reported that circumstances were uncovered indicating that key evidence had been lost during the proceedings. According to IPN investigators, the Navy Prosecutor’s Office failed to carry out essential procedural actions and prematurely closed the case, which allowed the perpetrators of the unlawful acts to evade criminal responsibility.
The IPN reopened the investigation into the fatal shooting of Antoni Browarczyk in October 2025 as part of the “Archive of Crimes” project.
Antoni Browarczyk (born October 21, 1961, in Gdańsk) was one of the first and youngest victims of martial law in Poland. He took part in demonstrations in Gdańsk on December 6, 1981, and on December 17 joined a protest in the city center. He was fatally shot near the “Hucisko” intersection. The investigation into his death was discontinued three times due to failure to identify the perpetrators. In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by President Lech Kaczyński.