A court has overturned the decision by Warsaw’s mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, to ban a pro-Palestine march planned for this Saturday and which will finish outside the Israeli embassy.
The municipal authorities and the police argued that the event would be a security risk given that it would involve an estimated 2,000 participants gathering in narrow streets around the embassy. They also cited the current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as potentially increasing the risk of terrorism.
The organisers of the march, however, appealed against Trzaskowski’s decision, citing their constitutionally protected right to freedom of assembly.
Warsaw has banned a pro-Palestinian demonstration that was meant to finish outside the Israeli embassy.
It cited security concerns and pointed to an antisemitic sign that appeared at a previous march.
The organisers have appealed against the decision https://t.co/C154vlQt9F
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 15, 2023
This morning, Trzaskowski announced that the ban had been overturned.
“The court did not share the doubts raised by Warsaw [city hall] and the police regarding the security of the pro-Palestinian demonstration planned for the weekend, the route of which leads through narrow streets,” wrote the mayor on X. “We accept this decision.”
“At the same time, I appeal to the police to be vigilant in order to prevent possible dangerous incidents,” he added. “The safety of participants and residents is paramount.”
Nie „nie podzielił wątpliwości”, tylko stwierdził, że zakazem złamaliście prawa człowieka (wolność zgromadzeń i słowa), a jak macie „wątpliwości dotyczące bezpieczeństwa”, to macie użyć dostępnych środków żeby zabezpieczyć budynek ambasady i samo zgromadzenie. https://t.co/lcSyaErB8U
— SZPIL(A) (@szpil_a) November 16, 2023
In a justification for the ruling later published by Warsaw’s district court, it noted that the authorities “did not prove that there was…a real threat to the life or health of people or property to a significant extent”. As such, the constitutional right to freedom of assembly trumped the city’s concerns, found the court.
In its ruling, the court also referred to the fact that the mayor had cited as one justification for his decision an incident at a previous pro-Palestinian march in Warsaw at which one woman held an antisemitic sign.
The court noted that the organisers of the event had condemned that sign, indicating that they “do not support nor identify with this kind of slogan”.
The Medical University of Warsaw has suspended a Norwegian student who was pictured at a recent pro-Palestine march in the Polish capital holding a banner featuring the Israeli flag being thrown in a bin alongside the words “Keep the world clean” https://t.co/qYC5HQpTef
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 31, 2023
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Main image credit: Jacek Marczewski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
