The five-year investigation into secret CIA detention in Poland continued amid lack of transparency. In November, the UN Committee Against Torture urged Poland to complete the investigation within reasonable time. News emerged early in the year that charges, never officially confirmed, against Poland's former intelligence chief would be dropped. In October, the prosecutor general granted victim status in the case to a Yemeni national detained at Guantánamo Bay.

In January, an appeals court acquitted the editor of the Antykomor.pl website of charges of defaming the president. His conviction by a lower court in September 2012 prompted the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to call for repeal of criminal defamation in Poland.

In February, the ECtHR found Poland in violation of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment for detaining a paraplegic in a prison unsuitable for persons with disabilities.

At time of writing, Parliament was examining a bill to protect against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and broaden the legal definition of harassment.

The Senate was examining a bill to create a high-security facility for convicts who are deemed to pose a threat to the life, health or sexual freedom of others or to children. While safeguards are written into the bill, concerns remain that the measure could lead to indefinite detention of individuals who have already served out their sentences.

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