Former Polish intelligence official Piotr Niemczyk detained to serve 15 days over climate protest

Morning arrest in Warsaw

Police detained Piotr Niemczyk around 09:00 on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, in Warsaw. Former Green Party leader Marek Kossakowski announced the arrest on social media, reporting that officers placed Niemczyk into a police vehicle at 09:10 to transport him to the Białołęka detention facility. Prison Service spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Arleta Pęconek later confirmed that Niemczyk was admitted to a penitentiary facility, adding that the agency would provide no further details.

Piotr Niemczyk is currently staying in one of the penitentiary units.

Niemczyk, an anti-communist dissident during the communist era, served as deputy director of the Intelligence Board at the Office of State Protection between 1993 and 1994. He subsequently advised the parliamentary intelligence commission and the interior minister before serving as undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Economy in 2001.

Protest origins and community service penalties

The detention stems from a climate protest organized by the activist group Last Generation on 25 May 2025 in Warsaw. Activists blocked streets and bridges across the capital to draw public attention to climate disruption. Following the demonstration, the judiciary initiated legal proceedings against participants for obstructing traffic and resisting police orders.

In December 2025, a court sentenced 26 individuals to one month of community service. Both Niemczyk and Obywatele RP leader Paweł Kasprzak refused to complete the mandated labour, treating the refusal as a deliberate continuation of their civil protest. The court subsequently converted the unpaid work orders into 15 days of custodial detention. Kasprzak served his 15-day sentence at a prison in Siedlce between 23 April and 8 May 2026.

Dispute over physical actions and legal procedures

Kasprzak disputed the court's findings regarding Niemczyk, arguing that Niemczyk did not sit in the street alongside other demonstrators. According to Kasprzak, Niemczyk remained on the pedestrian pavement holding a banner because a prior leg injury prevented him from sitting down safely.

While I deserved it because I actually sat on the roadway and blocked traffic, in Piotr's case the situation was completely different. He stood with a banner on the sidewalk. He had previously suffered a complicated leg injury, so he was afraid that sitting down could end badly for his health. Despite this, he was convicted of blocking traffic and refusing to leave the roadway. What an absurdity.

Kasprzak also criticized the judicial mechanism used to process the charges, specifically the issuance of penal orders without full hearings.

It is scandalous that summary penal orders were issued in this case, which deprives the accused of the right to defense. Moreover, according to the regulations, the court in this mode can impose a restriction of liberty or a fine, and converting this into a custodial sentence is contrary to the law.

Appeals to the justice ministry

Following Tuesday's detention, more than 40 former communist-era dissidents submitted a formal appeal to the Minister of Justice and the Commissioner for Human Rights. The signatories demanded that authorities file an extraordinary cassation appeal covering Kasprzak, Niemczyk, and the other 24 convicted protesters. The petition argued that imposing custodial terms for peaceful demonstration is unacceptable in a democratic state ruled by law. Protesters also gathered outside the Ministry of Justice building on Tuesday evening to picket against the enforcement of the sentence.