The president on detained soldiers. “Why weren't I or the National Security Bureau informed?”
President Andrzej Duda pointed out that, as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he was not informed about the shots fired near the border and the detention of Polish soldiers.
During a media appearance at the Polish war cemetery in Urville-Langannerie, President Andrzej Duda was asked about the scandal that occurred near the border with Belarus in March. On Thursday, the Onet portal reported that the Military Police detained three soldiers who used weapons against migrants armed with dangerous tools.
The president on the case of detained soldiers
–These shootings took place in March. Why were we, as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the National Security Bureau, not informed about this? Was this an attempt to hide the situation, to sweep it under the rug? It cannot be tolerated that such information is not provided to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In such situations, I also feel responsible to provide protection to Polish soldiers, said President Andrzej Duda.
The president emphasized several times that the case was very shocking. – Recently, our soldiers have been attacked several times by attackers from the Belarusian side. What is shocking is the way in which the detention, de facto arrest, took place. It was a very sharp stop. Today, soldiers are defenders of the borders of the Republic of Poland, serving in very difficult and incredibly mentally exhausting conditions. (…) This is an issue that must be clarified – he emphasized.
Due to these events, the president convened the National Security Council. It is tentatively scheduled for Monday at 16.00.
Onet reported that soldiers fired 43 bullets when faced with pressure from armed migrants. Eventually, the advancing refugees withdrew and the Military Police arrived.
–Three boys from the company were led away in handcuffs like bandits. Proceedings were initiated against two of them and they were suspended. They were only released from custody because we organized a collection in the battalion to get them a lawyer, because the commander was not interested in helping them in any way (…) – said Onet's source.
