The violation of human rights of LGBTIQ people in Poland has reached a new level when several protestors were detained two weeks ago in a demonstration in Warsaw. 

On August 7, 2020, demonstrators tried to block the arrest of Margot Szutowicz, in front of the office of the Polish LGBTIQ advocacy organisation, Campaign Against Homophobia (Kampania Przeciw Homofobii). During the arrest of Margot on charges of assaulting and destroying a homophobic van, protestors moved to the monument to block an unmarked car, which was used by the police to transfer the detained and it resulted in arrest of the demonstrators and Margot Szutowicz.

Margot Szutowicz is a non-binary LGBTIQ activist, who attended many protests against the anti-LGBTIQ practices in Poland. The charges may result in a prison sentence of several years for Margot Szutowicz. Now, the activist is being held for two months until the trial. Most of the demonstrators who were arrested on August 7 were detained for 48 hours and then released. ILGA Europe reported most of the detained were denied access to lawyers, and some were denied access to beds and/or food.

On the initiative of ILGA Europe, AIDS Action Europe (AAE) sent a letter to the Polish authorities on August 14, calling to stop the police violence against demonstrators and arbitrary detention in relation to the events during the demonstration against the pre-trial detention of activist Margot Szutowicz.

  • AAE calls upon the District Prosecutor's Office to immediately revoke the pre-trial arrest warrant Margot Szutowicz.
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  • AAE calls upon the Polish police to immediately release those detained during the demonstrations on 7 August 2020.
     
  • AAE also calls upon the Polish government to refrain from restricting the fundamental human rights of of the LGBTIQ community and individuals, including their right to assembly and freedom of speech and conscience, and to ensure their equal treatment

AAE condemns the police violence against protesters and arbitrary detention. What happened on August 7, 2020, in Warsaw is another incident in a row of occurrences in recent years clearly showing that fundamental rights of LGBTIQ people are not protected by the Polish state.

 

Sources: ILGA Europe

Campaign Against Homophobia

AAE's official letter to the Polish authorities: