“When will the team of prosecutors effectively established to prosecute the defenders of Poland’s borders finally be dissolved?” President Karol Nawrocki asked, addressing Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz during a briefing at the Warsaw Citadel.
During his nearly hour-long address to soldiers and senior officials of the Ministry of National Defence, President Karol Nawrocki also referred to the commitment and sacrifice of Polish soldiers, which he said “is a guarantee of the security of Poland’s borders”.
As established by the Niezalezna.pl portal, one of the soldiers patrolling the Polish-Belarusian border was charged in connection with an accident that occurred while on duty, despite the case having been set to be withdrawn from court. The order to carry out the withdrawal was refused by Col. Tomasz Mackiewicz, Director of the Department for Military Affairs at the National Prosecutor’s Office.
The case concerns an incident from November 2023. A soldier pursued an illegal migrant who had managed to cross the Polish-Belarusian border. After the soldier fell, his weapon discharged, injuring a Syrian national. As experts later stated, the submachine gun had design flaws, which resulted in the unexpected shot.
At the Warsaw Citadel, a difficult question was raised. “As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, I must ask the Minister of National Defence – when will the team of prosecutors effectively established to prosecute the defenders of Poland’s borders finally be dissolved? Why, despite a lawful order issued by the Deputy Prosecutor General for Military Affairs to withdraw the motion for conditional discontinuation of the proceedings against an innocent officer of the Polish Armed Forces, was that order not carried out and why does the prosecution seek a declaration of his guilt?” Karol Nawrocki asked Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“I want to state clearly that there is and will never be my consent to such treatment of border defenders and Polish soldiers, nor to the prosecution of Polish soldiers for protecting Polish women and men. Defending the border, protecting Polish women and men, is not an abuse of power. I know that soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces use their weapons professionally, in accordance with the law and ethical principles. I will not tolerate illegal actions by prosecutors against soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces,” the president emphasized.