The stabbing of a Polish soldier on the border with Belarus has caused the Poles to demand strict measures in the country’s border areas.
On Friday, the Polish Parliament Sejm voted through a law that allows the country’s security authorities to use lethal weapons in threatening situations at the country’s borders.
Reported about it among others, Euractiv.
The law protects a border guard, police officer or soldier who uses lethal force in a threat situation from criminal sanctions.
The Polish president still needs to sign the law before it comes into effect.
The background of the law is a long-standing problem situation on the border between Poland and Belarus, where Russia and Belarus have guided African asylum seekers to cross the border to Poland.
The already volatile situation took a tragic turn in June, when a refugee trying to cross the border stabbed a Polish soldier. A 21-year-old Polish soldier died of his injuries.
The Poles have also been angry that the soldiers who fired warning shots at those trying to cross the border have been arrested by the police.
Now the country’s parliament reacts to the situation with harsh measures, and facilitates the use of lethal weapons at the border.
The law has attracted criticism. The pan-European legal organization the Council of Europe and activist organizations have been concerned that the law would lead to arbitrary violence by police, border guards and soldiers.
According to activists, the law violates human rights in the name of national security. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Poland Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the law is based on precise requirements.
– This law improves the sense of security for our soldiers, who steadfastly defend the border between Poland and the European Union. It gives them better opportunities to use weapons in situations defined by law. Today we voted for the security of Poland, Kosiniak-Kamysz spoke in the Sejm.
Source: Reuters