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2026-10-31 Europe
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Coup rumors in Poland: Polish president turns back mid-flight amid court 'coup d'état' claims
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[EuroNews] Police were deployed outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal following security warnings. Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski was suspended from his duties, while Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal.
Riot police were deployed outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal on Friday and Polish President Karol Nawrocki turned his plane around on Friday while travelling to Senegal after police entered the Constitutional Tribunal and its president was suspended.
"At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning," he said on X.
The government has been seeking to remove Constitutional Tribunal judges appointed by the previous right-wing administration led by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Against this backdrop, dozens of police officers guarded the building's entrance as supporters of the now-opposition PiS gathered to protest the suspension of the Tribunal's president, Bogdan Święczkowski.
Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek told journalists that he had requested the lifting of the immunity of Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański.
The suspension was announced by Constitutional Tribunal judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska.
'COUP D'ÉTAT': TRIBUNAL DENOUNCES THE MOVE
In a post on its official X account, the Tribunal described the move as a "coup d'état".
"Ms. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal," the post said. "All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'état."
Outside the court, PiS supporters chanted "Tusk traitor", according to an AFP journalist at the scene. Some protesters prayed while holding Catholic rosaries and religious images.
During the PiS party's time in power from 2015 to 2023, the European Union accused Poland's highest court of being too closely aligned with the government.
The court ruled on several occasions that Polish law took precedence over EU legislation.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to resolve the dispute with Brussels after winning the 2023 election, but President Karol Nawrocki has blocked his appointments to the court.
Police say they secured the Tribunal after dozens of protesters gathered to demonstrate against what they called the wrongful suspension of the top court’s president by the current pro-European government.
Police said there were also dangerous objects thrown at officers outside the building.
Some protesters outside the court were seen praying, while others held posters reading "Tusk — a symbol of anti-Polish sentiment," "Down with the commies and Tusk’s regime," and "Stop destroying the state."
Poland’s top judicial bodies, including the Constitutional Tribunal, have been a major bone of contention between the current pro-European government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and the main opposition party, national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS), which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023.
Critics accuse the PiS of imposing political control over key judicial institutions, with some reforms having led the EU to impose fines on Poland.
Nawrocki, an ally of the PiS party, refused to swear in three of six judges nominated by parliament earlier this year.
Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski, who was appointed by the PiS government after also serving as a deputy justice minister, declined to allow judges elected by the current parliamentary majority to assume their duties. According to the tribunal’s website, Święczkowski was suspended Friday.
"Restoring the rule of law is our duty," said Tusk, who returned to power in 2023 with a promise to restore the judiciary’s independence. He posted to X, "After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way."
Since taking power, Tusk’s pro-European government’s efforts have been vetoed by two successive presidents aligned with PiS, including Nawrocki.
Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, a former PiS member whose Rozwój Plus coalition is positioning itself as an alternative to Tusk's government ahead of next November’s parliamentary elections, also took to X to denounce "the forceful takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal."
"Justice cannot be achieved through violence," Morawiecki said, adding that "Tusk will stop at nothing to cling to power… We do not consent to Belarusian methods in Poland!"
"It’s true: a coup d’état is underway," former PiS Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on X. "If someone were to forcibly break into the Prime Minister’s Office and take it over, we would all know what to call it… This is a blatant, criminal attack on the constitutional order… That is why I call for resistance that will be loud, firm, solidary and fearless."
"A judge whose oath was never accepted by the President Nawrocki has declared herself head of the Constitutional Tribunal and suspended its leadership, while police secured the building," added Morawiecki. "This is not how the rule of law is restored. The tribunal's crisis is real, but replacing one disputed set of rules with a more radical one only invites the next government to do the same."
U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose posted a statement on social media that read in part: "The events unfolding tonight at Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal are very serious indeed. We appear to be witnessing an unprecedented confrontation over the government’s use of state power and the independence and authority of a constitutional institution. Both sides offer sharply different accounts of what happened and why. Whatever the facts ultimately establish, thousands gathering outside the Tribunal make an already dangerous situation more combustible. The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse. America is on Poland’s side. It is not our place to judge or interfere in its internal affairs. Our concern is for the stability, security, and democratic future of a country we are proud to call our friend and ally."
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Posted by Dopey Photch2701 2026-10-31 00:00||
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