Warsaw prosecutor drops criminal investigation into police raid on Tomasz Sakiewicz's apartment

The raid on 15 May

On 15 May 2026, police officers entered the Warsaw apartment of Tomasz Sakiewicz, the editor-in-chief of the conservative news channel TV Republika. The intervention was triggered by a report sent to the Office of the Children's Ombudsman, claiming a child inside the flat was about to commit suicide. Officers, accompanied by paramedics, searched all rooms. During the operation, Sakiewicz's assistant was handcuffed after refusing to cooperate.

Timeline of key dates

Investigation and findings

The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation on 2 June into possible abuse of power by the officers. The probe examined three separate threads, including potential harm to Sakiewicz's private interests. Investigators established that the officers had been dispatched with an urgent status, believing they were responding to a life-or-death emergency involving a minor. They did not know the alert was false, nor that it was one of several similar false alarms targeting Sakiewicz's address.

Legal reasoning: necessity overrides consent

At a press briefing on 1 July, spokesman Piotr Antoni Skiba explained the legal logic behind the decision to discontinue the case.

“No law explicitly gives police the right to enter someone's home without consent when a report indicates an immediate threat to life or health. However, such an entry is not illegal because the officers act in a state of necessity.”

He added that even though the report was false, the officers remained in a justified but mistaken belief that a real threat existed, and therefore did not commit a crime. The prosecutor acknowledged that the intervention was carried out incorrectly, primarily because the officers failed to clearly communicate the reason for their visit at the outset, leading to unnecessary escalation. These flaws, however, rose only to the level of disciplinary infractions, not criminal offences.

Criticism of the apartment's occupants

The prosecutor also delivered a negative assessment of the conduct of Sakiewicz and his assistant during the encounter. The officers were in uniform, and contrary to the assistant's expectations, they were not required to show their service ID cards. The patrol commander introduced himself by rank and name at the start, meeting the procedural requirement. The temporary restraint of the assistant and the use of direct coercive measures were deemed entirely legal, justified by her attitude, and within the officers' competences.

Political reaction

Minister of Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński responded to the closure on social media.

“The prosecutor found that the officers who intervened in Sakiewicz's home did not break the law and acted out of necessity. When there is a fear for human life, the police will always react. That's what they're for.”

The minister had previously criticised the Law and Justice (PiS) party for not distancing itself from Sakiewicz's accusations against the police.

What comes next

The discontinuance decision is not final. Both sides have the right to appeal to a court, meaning the legal debate over the raid may continue even though the criminal investigation has been closed.