Protesters block entrance to Polish parliament

The protesters, many of them reportedly linked to a group critical of the country’s ruling conservatives and known as the Citizens of the Republic, were occupying an office that issues passes to those wanting to visit the parliament building in Warsaw.

“We were not allowed to enter the parliament although we had an official invitation from MPs,” one of the protesters, Michał Szymanderski-Pastryk, said, as quoted by the onet.pl website.

According to public broadcaster TVP Info, some of those staging the protest were refused entry because they were on a black list due to their previous record of troublesome behaviour.

The group wanted to enter the parliament on Wednesday to watch Poland’s MPs debate new legislation intended to modify a disputed law governing the country’s Supreme Court, onet.pl reported.

The Supreme Court law is one of a slew of sweeping judicial changes that has set Poland's conservative authorities on a collision course with Brussels.

Onet.pl quoted Andrzej Grzegrzółka, director of the parliament's information centre, as saying that the protest appeared to be pre-planned and that the parliament building “is not the right place to stage such antics.”

Grzegrzółka told TVP Info that, with the lower house, the Sejm, in session, the protesters were making it difficult for other people to access parliament.

(gs/pk)

Source: onet.pl, TVP Info