We strongly oppose the ruling party’s attempts to intimidate the media. We are outraged by the continuous police’s hostile actions toward journalists and photo-reporters, including the use of coercive measures.

Independent media is one of the pillars of democracy, and their presence is particularly important during events that strongly agitate the public and are significant for a majority of the society. The opposition against the more restrictive abortion law is a mass rally of hundreds of thousands of Polish women and men. Regardless of the position on this issue, the public has the right to learn about the protests from different sources. The presence of media representatives at the demonstrations, including those recognized by the authorities as illegal, is to provide reliable information and publicize possible irregularities. They should not be afraid of law enforcement aggression. 

We, therefore, demand an immediate end to the repressive measures against journalists and photo-reporters who perform their duties during the protests. Instead of intimidating the media, the police should support their difficult and responsible task.