"Direct coercive measures in the form of gas and physical force were used in connection with the attack on police officers", Warsaw police spokesman Sylwester Marczak told journalists on Saturday.
Warszawa. Teraz. pic.twitter.com/9U8Mz7c5vR
— Bartłomiej Bublewicz (@bbublewicz) May 16, 2020
A protest was held on Castle Square in the Polish capital on Saturday, despite the prohibition of mass social gatherings amid the spread of the coronavirus.
Demonstrators, who included entrepreneurs, were calling for more economic support from the government and for the compensation of financial losses resulting from the coronavirus restrictions.
It is so heartbreaking how the peaceful protest for human freedom rights in Warsaw was treated by Police and government in Poland: innocent women, children and men were shot with gas weapon. Here is the footage from protest.See TC: 1:45:50. https://t.co/AlTUdiUQ7o @GrzegorzBraun_
— Magz (@miamagz) May 16, 2020
Police called on the demonstrators to end their protest as it was illegal but had to use force after attacks on law enforcement officers, according to Warsaw police reports on Twitter.
#Poland | Police in #Warsaw used tear gas on Saturday against protestors demanding the government act faster to allow businesses to reopen following a #coronavirus #shutdown.➡️ https://t.co/xk0Be7drz4 pic.twitter.com/vEeWK3zbQG
— Atlantide (@Atlantide4world) May 16, 2020
policja (sama przez siebie potraktowana gazem) rzuca na ziemię zagr. dziennikarza z kamerą
— Klementyna Suchanow (@KSuchanow) May 16, 2020
"GO AWAY" pic.twitter.com/HhnjZHZMoN
According to the latest data from the World Health Organization, there are over 18,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Poland, including more than 900 deaths from COVID-19. A cluster of over 200 coronavirus cases emerged in Poland’s southern Silesia region this week.
