A few dozen protesters wearing face masks because of COVID-19-related sanitary restrictions on Saturday criticised the government anti-coronavirus policy. They carried white and red banners, Poland’s national colors, with slogans against the government and ruling Law and Justice party (PIS).
The event was organised by independent presidential candidate Paweł Tanajno, who has enjoyed less than 1 percent support in recent polls. He was notified by police officers that any public gatherings were prohibited during the pandemic and was asked to abort the event, which he ignored, Polish state-run news agency PAP reported on Saturday.
When the protesters began marching towards the Presidential Palace, decisive action had to be taken to stop the illegal demonstration, according to the police. Overall, seven people were detained including Tanajno, the latter on the grounds of assaulting a police officer.
“No tolerance for attacking police officers. If anyone threatens the police they make us react decisively. We confirm that Paweł Tanajno has been detained for assaulting a police officer, ” Polish police tweeted on Saturday.
In Poland’s trouble-ridden presidential election, Tanajno is running against the Law and Justice-backed, incumbent president Andrzej Duda who leads latest opinion polls with some 40 percent voter support .
The election was originally planned for May 10 but was delayed due to a political crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new date has not been officially set yet, but government officials on several occasions have pointed to June 28.
Source: PAP, IAR
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