A protest broke out in Poland with police involvement over the Constitutional Tribunal. What preceded it

Protests have erupted in Poland over the Constitutional Tribunal. The protest is mainly led by the opposition, who accuse Prime Minister Donald Tusk of trying to control the bodyʼs work.

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska has suspended the head of the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland Bohdan Swieczkowski and his deputy Bartholomew Sochanski of taking over the institution for blocking the work of the tribunal.

According to her, they prevented the convening of general meetings of the Constitutional Tribunal with the participation of all legitimate judges and illegally appointed panels to consider cases.

At the same time, Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Žurek filed five motions to lift their immunity. This sparked mass opposition protests outside the building, and police entered the building after reports of a threat to the safety of judges and staff.

Opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński accused the authorities of attacking the court, after which President Karol Nawrocki cut short his visit to Senegal and returned to Poland.

The Prime Minister Tusk declared the "restoration of the rule of law" and accused the previous government of lawlessness.

• In Poland, there has been a long-running conflict between Donald Tuskʼs government and the president over control of the judiciary. The prime minister is trying to revamp the Constitutional Tribunal, which he sees as dependent on the previous PiS government.
• Earlier, President Nawrocki blocked the swearing in of new judges, and the former head of the tribunal Swieczkowski prevented them from working.

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