“If a journalist in Poland has to wonder whether another false report will result in officers entering their home, handcuffing colleagues, and searching the newsroom – it means a very dangerous line is being crossed,” stated President of Poland Karol Nawrocki. The head of state made this comment in response to the campaign of harassment targeting TV Republika journalists.
A campaign of harassment against TV Republika journalists
In recent days, TV Republika journalists have fallen victim to a series of false alarms. Reports were sent to their addresses regarding alleged terrorist threats, suicide attempts, and acts of violence, prompting emergency services to be dispatched.
However, after intervention, it turned out that the information was completely false. Such actions not only disrupt the work of emergency services but also lead to the unnecessary deployment of significant resources that could otherwise be used to assist people genuinely in danger.
Yesterday, police officers entered the apartment of TV Republika CEO Tomasz Sakiewicz and handcuffed his assistant. They also refused to identify themselves and did not have badges displaying their service numbers or names. One of the officers was wearing an emblem reading “Poczesna Police Station.”
President Nawrocki: “A very dangerous line is being crossed”
President Karol Nawrocki spoke today about the harassment campaign against TV Republika journalists. In a post published on X, the head of state emphasized that “if a journalist in Poland has to wonder whether another false report will result in officers entering their home, handcuffing colleagues, and searching the newsroom – it means a very dangerous line is being crossed.”
He added that there is no democracy without free media. There is no freedom of speech where journalists begin to live under the pressure of law enforcement interventions, threats, and actions that paralyze newsroom operations. Regardless of political views, everyone should ask themselves today whether the state can allow a situation in which journalists do not feel safe in their own homes and workplaces, the president indicated.
He also announced that “remembering the experience of communism, we will defend freedom of speech and oppose the harassment of the media.”
“I thank the Head of the National Security Bureau, Minister Bartosz Grodecki, for the initiative aimed at clarifying all circumstances of the actions taken by the services against TV Republika journalists,” he concluded.