Opposition MPs clash with police at Warsaw academy following dismissal of rector

Standoff at the rector's office

Opposition Law and Justice (PiS) MP Maria Kurowska entered her fifth day occupying the sixth floor corridor of the Academy of Justice (AWS) in Warsaw on 14 September 2026. Kurowska positioned herself outside the rector's office to prevent professor Sławomir Cudak from entering the room. Cudak was appointed acting rector-commandant by Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek after Żurek upheld the dismissal of previous rector Michał Sopiński on 9 September. Kurowska conducted live broadcasts from the corridor, led prayers before relics, and stated that her supplies of food and water had run out. Deputy Justice Minister Maria Ejchart stated that the lawmaker was remaining inside voluntarily and had exceeded her statutory mandate.

“It is not about sitting somewhere and barricading oneself, and that is exactly what MP Kurowska is doing, while not hiding that she has started her election campaign in this way.”

Police cordons and perimeter incidents

Tensions around the Karmelicka Street campus increased as police established metal barriers and restricted access to the premises overnight between 13 and 14 September. Several PiS parliamentarians attempted to deliver supplies to Kurowska after police barred outside deliveries. On 14 September, PiS MP Dariusz Matecki climbed over the academy fence after officers refused him entry at the front gate, receiving a paper bag of provisions from a person on an adjoining property before searching for basement entrances. Earlier, MPs Antoni Macierewicz and Mariusz Gosek called an emergency medical team to the building. Kurowska declined medical examination, stating that she feared a physical confrontation if the doors opened.

“You have no right to touch me. Do not touch me. If I impale myself on the fence, that is my business.”

Institutional clash and parliamentary appeals

The dispute centers on the administrative leadership of the state-run institution, which was established in 2018 as the Higher School of Criminology and Penitentiary Studies to train prison service officers. Sopiński maintained that his dismissal was legally ineffective because formal notice was never properly served to him during a conference in Karpacz. On 14 September, Sopiński visited the Ministry of Justice and subsequently submitted a formal inquiry to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration demanding the legal grounds and command structure for the police cordon. Meanwhile, acting rector Cudak sent a formal petition to Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty requesting immediate intervention under parliamentary ethics rules and Articles 19 and 20 of the mandate act. Former deputy interior minister Maciej Wąsik argued that the deployment of police on university grounds breached statutory institutional autonomy.

“The autonomy of the university was violated, because the rector of the Academy of Justice did not give consent for the police to enter its grounds and did not call them.”