Government · Warsaw and Hajnówka
Polish military court acquits lieutenant who accidentally shot Syrian migrant on Belarus border
The Military Garrison Court in Warsaw acquitted second lieutenant Adam Ł. on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, of careless handling of a weapon and unintentional bodily injury. The case stems from a November 2023 shooting of a Syrian migrant near the Belarusian border.
In brief
The Military Garrison Court in Warsaw acquitted second lieutenant Adam Ł. on 21 October 2026 of careless handling of a weapon and unintentional bodily injury.
Experts cited in case documents said the PM-98 submachine gun had design flaws that allowed it to fire when dropped, according to wPolityce.pl.
Prosecutors asked for conditional discontinuation and a 2,000 zloty payment to the Syrian man, while the defence sought full acquittal.
Ad Vocem says Deputy Prosecutor General Tomasz Janeczek ordered the motion withdrawn, an order the National Prosecutor's Office disputed.
- 3 NovShooting on the Belarusian border near Topiło in Podlasie, as reported by one outlet
- 5 NovProsecutor Radosław Wiszenko says the soldier shot a migrant who had crossed illegally, in an accidental trip
- 21 OctMilitary Garrison Court in Warsaw acquits the officer
The verdict
The Military Garrison Court in Warsaw found second lieutenant Adam Ł. not guilty on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. He had been charged with careless handling of a weapon and unintentional bodily injury, and the court held that no fault had been proven. He was serving on the Belarusian border, supporting the Border Guard and the police, when a Syrian citizen who had crossed the frontier illegally was wounded during a chase. Sources differ on the exact date, with one outlet citing 3 November 2023 and others placing the incident in November 2023. The wounded man was taken to hospital in Hajnówka.
How the shooting happened
In reports published at the time, the shot was described as accidental: during a pursuit through the forest the soldier tripped and fell, and the weapon fired without control. Radosław Wiszenko, deputy for military affairs at the Białystok-Północ District Prosecutor's Office, said on 5 November 2023 that a soldier had shot a migrant who crossed the border illegally, and that the findings so far pointed to an unfortunate accident caused by a trip. The Military Gendarmerie ran the proceedings under article 308 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and investigators saw no grounds to detain the soldier. Later, wPolityce.pl, citing case documents, reported that the PM-98 submachine gun had design defects that could make it fire when dropped. The presiding judge, ppłk Michał Żak, said in the reasoning:
“After the soldier's fall, the weapon could fire by itself, even if it was properly secured.”
A disputed prosecution
The case reached prosecutors through a lawyer holding a power of attorney from the wounded Syrian, who filed the notification that led to the charges. The association Ad Vocem recalled that Deputy Prosecutor General Tomasz Janeczek had personally reviewed the file, found no sign of a crime and instructed that the motion to court be withdrawn. According to the association, that instruction was never carried out, and the National Prosecutor's Office disputed both its legal basis and its implementation. Prosecutors went on to ask the court for conditional discontinuation and a 2,000 zloty payment to the Syrian man, while the defence asked for a full acquittal. The court acquitted the officer.
Reactions
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, deputy prime minister and defence minister, announced the acquittal on X and said the army had provided legal aid to the officer through the Military Team for the Protection of Soldiers' Rights. In his post he wrote:
“No negligence was proven against him during his service on the Belarusian border.”
Dariusz Matecki, an MP, welcomed the verdict on X and directed his criticism at Adam Bodnar and Waldemar Żurek, whom he named in the post. Wiszenko's 2023 account and the 2026 verdict are the two official positions now on the public record for the case.