“This is an unacceptable situation that threatens the state of democracy in Poland, when the largest news television station in the country is subjected to such actions by services subordinate to the government, which this station of course often and rightly criticizes,” said Marcin Przydacz, Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President, referring to the coordinated actions targeting TV Republika.
Attack on TV Republika
Recently, a series of false alarms targeting TV Republika journalists has led to interventions by the police, fire brigade, and emergency services. Officers also appeared at the home of the station’s CEO, Tomasz Sakiewicz, where they handcuffed his assistant. The police reported that a 53-year-old man suspected of triggering the alarms had been detained, but he was later released after it was determined that his identity had been stolen and that he himself was another victim in the case. Two YouTubers claim that their personal data has been used for some time to report false alarms.
Marcin Przydacz, Head of the International Policy Bureau at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, addressed these events today.
“This is an unacceptable situation that threatens the state of democracy in Poland, when the largest news television station in the country is subjected to such actions by services subordinate to the government, which this station of course often and rightly criticizes. Therefore, this should also be viewed through the prism of attempts to curb the activities of this editorial team and as a threat to freedom of speech. The way these police officers behaved, how they treated an innocent woman by putting her in handcuffs, is indeed a scandal,” he said.
In his opinion, “an even greater scandal is the lack of appropriate conclusions drawn from this situation.” He pointed out that “Minister Kierwiński should fully explain to the public what happened there, what those reports looked like, what those recordings looked like, rather than shifting the blame onto subordinate officials or police officers, but instead accept it as his own political responsibility, because this is indeed yet another instance in which TV Republika is, in a sense, being disparaged by those in power.”
“This is also the result of a certain atmosphere being created around independent media, for example by not referring to TV Republika journalists as journalists, but as so-called employees of a television station, thereby creating a very negative atmosphere around this editorial team. The President strongly disapproves of this, also in his role as the guardian of the Constitution, which enshrines fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech and expression. If the government does not understand this, it means it does not understand the fundamental principles of democracy and the rule of law,” he concluded.