Tusk defends suspension of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal president amid protests

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended the suspension of the Constitutional Tribunal president as necessary to restore judicial independence, as hundreds protested in Warsaw. President Nawrocki returned from a flight to Senegal and helped the suspended president enter the building. Police detained three protesters.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended his government's suspension of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, as hundreds protested in Warsaw for a second night. Tusk said the move is necessary to restore judicial independence after years of what he called lawlessness under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government. Critics, including PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, have likened the suspension to a 'coup d'etat.' President Karol Nawrocki, who opposes the pro-European government, turned back his plane from Senegal and helped Swieczkowski enter the tribunal building. Police detained three protesters after objects were thrown. The dispute is likely to deepen political polarization a year before a parliamentary election. Tusk's coalition government, which includes centrist, left, and conservative parties, faces opposition from Nawrocki and PiS-aligned figures. The government accuses Swieczkowski of breaking the law and blocking judges, while the EU had previously ruled the tribunal was not impartial under PiS appointments. Tusk compared PiS to a thief who claims victimhood when caught.