Poland has alleged an attempted coup after a crowd of protesters surrounded the Constitutional Tribunal building in Warsaw on Friday evening, with some trying to break through the fence and force their way inside, the website infohub.kz reports.
Police stopped the attempted breach, after which officers were pelted with various objects. President Karol Nawrocki arrived at the scene with a large security detail, having cut short a trip to Senegal to do so. The crowd greeted him enthusiastically with chants of "Karol! Karol!" as police rushed to hold people back. Traffic was blocked in central Warsaw. Officers said the incident did not lead to a reinforced security presence.
Protests outside the Constitutional Tribunal building began back in October. People demonstrated against what they called "an attack on the rule of law" and condemned the authorities' actions.
The situation escalated amid a conflict over the tribunal's leadership. The Constitutional Tribunal's website posted information that Swieczkowski and Deputy Chairman Bartlomiej Sochanski had been suspended from their duties. The tribunal's account on the social network X denied this and accused those involved of attempting a coup. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska meanwhile declared herself the new head of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Jacek Majchrowski, a member of Poland's Tribunal of State, spoke of a coup. "I call on all concerned citizens to come here and stand against the state coup we are witnessing," he said, speaking at a rally outside the tribunal building.