Detention of Polish soldiers who fired towards migrants was “fully justified”, says head of military police

Jun 19, 2024 | Defence, Law

The detention of soldiers who fired towards migrants trying to cross Poland’s border from Belarus was “not only justified, but also indispensable in view of the established facts”, says the commander of Poland’s military police.

His remarks came in response to an inquiry from the human rights commissioner, whose office is investigating the detention of three soldiers who reportedly fired warning shots into the air and ground around a group of 50 people – made up of men aged 20-30 – who had forced their way onto the Polish side of the border.

Two of the soldiers were later charged with exceeding their powers and endangering the lives of others. Politicians from both the ruling coalition and opposition have criticised the actions of military police and prosecutors.

Following the outcry, deputy human rights commissioner Stanisław Trociuk asked the head of the military police, Tomasz Kajzer, for explanations regarding the manner and circumstances of the soldiers’ detention, including the use of handcuffs.

In response, Kajzer said that he had appointed a team composed of senior officers “to assess the legitimacy and correctness of the actions taken by the military police during the detention of the soldiers”.

It had found that their actions were a justified and necessary implementation of the military police’s duty to secure evidence in connection with suspected crimes, and had been “carried out in accordance with the applicable procedure”.

Moreover, the manner in which the soldiers were detained was “fully justified”, wrote Kajzer. He noted that regulations allow the use of handcuffs in such cases and that cuffing suspects’ hands in front of their body is in fact “the least invasive means available”.

“Previous experience clearly indicates” that such measures are necessary to ensure the safety of those carrying out arrests and to prevent suspects from escaping, added Kajzer. He also noted that the detained suspects had not filed any complaint against the manner of their detention.

Asked whether the suspects had been handcuffed in front of their fellow soldiers, Kajzer said that his team had established that the arrests took place in a “discreet manner, respecting the dignity of the people detained and [their] human rights”. Only the soldiers’ superior officers had been present.

After news of the soldiers’ detention and charges reached the media earlier this month, a spokeswoman for prosecutor general Adam Bodnar sought to explain the actions of prosecutors in the case.

It had been deemed that the soldiers fired weapons towards the migrants in a manner inconsistent with procedures for the use of firearms, said spokeswoman Anna Adamiak.

In a separate statement, prosecutors said that from “the evidence presented, in particular camera recordings provided by the border guard, it appears that soldiers exceeded their powers during the intervention against migrants trying to illegally cross the border by firing several shots at them, exposing them to a direct risk of losing their lives”.


In response to the controversy – as well as to a series of attacks on Polish officers at the border, which in one case led to the death of a soldier – the government this week proposed new rules for the use of firearms by uniformed officers.

The measures would remove criminal liability for the use of weapons in certain cases when officers are acting in self-defence or repelling “attacks on the border”.

Last week, the government also introduced an exclusion zone banning unauthorised people from entering an area along the Belarus border. The measure is intended to improve security and to hinder the operations of people smugglers.


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Main image credit: MON (under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 PL)

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