Amnesty International Report 2005 - Poland

Covering events from January - December 2004

Three people died as a result of unlawful use of firearms by police officers. Domestic violence was not effectively investigated and prosecuted, and the victims frequently did not receive adequate protection. Lesbians and gay men were not adequately protected by the police. A march to promote the rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Warsaw was prohibited in violation of the right to freedom of assembly.

Unlawful use of firearms by police

Three people died in two separate incidents when police officers used firearms in circumstances that were in breach of international standards. Both incidents were being investigated. Some members of the Sejm (parliament) called for a thorough reform of the police force as well as of its recruitment and training, but their recommendations were not adopted.

• On 29 April in Poznañ, police officers shot dead a 19-year-old man and seriously injured another after they pursued a car they reportedly believed was occupied by criminal suspects. The two unarmed suspects attempted to run away after their car was blocked by an unmarked police car, reportedly believing that they were being pursued by carjackers.

• On 9 May in Łódź, police officers intervened after a group of young men assaulted some students. In the ensuing clash, the officers used riot guns and fired six shots, killing a 19-year-old male student and a 23-year-old woman who were not involved in the violence. According to the police, the guns had been loaded with live ammunition by mistake. The incident prompted the Łódź police chief and his deputy to resign, and the province's police chief was dismissed.

Women's rights

In November a report by the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the high number of cases of domestic violence against women. It reported that measures such as restraining orders and temporary arrests were not widely used, that appropriate protection was not afforded to victims, that shelters did not exist in many places, and that training for law enforcement officers was inadequate. The Committee recommended specific steps that Poland should take to address these problems.

The Committee was also concerned about the low number of women in senior positions in public services and the disparities in remuneration between men and women.

Expulsion of refugee

• In May, Imam Ahmed Ammar, a Yemeni national who had lived in Poland for 14 years, was ordered by the Wielkopolski Voivodship (local administration) office to leave the country within a week because he was "a risk to security". The decision was apparently made on the basis of an opinion of the Internal Security Agency, which refused to reveal the grounds for its decision. Ahmed Ammar appealed against the decision. In June, after he was forced to obey another order to leave the country, Ahmed Ammar was reportedly arrested by Political Security officers on his arrival in Yemen and taken to prison in Aden. He was released a month later.

Identity-based violations

LGBT people were assaulted by groups of young men. In May in Krakow, around 3,000 participants in a demonstration – the March for Tolerance – were inadequately protected by the police when they were assaulted by 300 people, including some representatives of the Sejm and local authorities. In November, football supporters in Poznañ assaulted several hundred participants in a demonstration calling for greater respect for the rights of sexual minorities. Subsequently, nine people suspected of violent conduct were arrested.

In June, Lech Kaczyński, the mayor of Warsaw, did not permit the holding of the Equality Parade, a march of LGBT people and their supporters. He reportedly stated that such an event would be "sexually obscene" and offensive to other people's religious feelings.

The UN Human Rights Committee was concerned that the right of sexual minorities not to be discriminated against was not fully recognized in Poland and that discriminatory acts and attitudes against people on the ground of sexual orientation were not being adequately investigated and punished. It recommended appropriate training for law enforcement and judicial officials, and for discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation to be specifically prohibited in Polish law.