Demonstrators face penalties after blocking far-right march in Warsaw
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
16.08.2017 17:05
Polish police have asked courts to impose penalties on 117 people suspected of blocking a legal march by a far-right organisation in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
The suspects allegedly blocked a march by the All-Polish Youth organisation as Poland celebrated its Armed Forces Day.
Officers checked the IDs of a total of 178 people during the march. Among them were members of a movement called Citizens of the Republic (Obywatele RP).
In addition, five people were fined by police on the day.
A spokesman for Warsaw police, Sylwester Marczak, told Polish Radio’s IAR news agency that the suspects blocked marchers by sitting down on the road to prevent them from passing.
Marczak also said that police take such steps every time a legal gathering is obstructed. For example, they did so when an equality parade was hindered by right-wing activists in June, he added.
"When people commit legal violations they have to be prepared for the consequences, and those who blocked the legal assembly yesterday will face such consequences," he told IAR on Wednesday.
Poland’s Armed Forces Day on 15 August celebrates a landmark victory against the Russian Bolsheviks in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish troops led by Marshal Józef Piłsudski defeated an advancing Red Army. (str/pk)
Source: IAR