Polish president turns back mid-flight amid 'coup d'état' allegations

Police were deployed outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal following security warnings. Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski was suspended from his duties, while Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal. Riot police were deployed outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal on Friday and Polish President Karol Nawrocki turned his plane around on Friday while travelling to Senegal after police entered the Constitutional Tribunal and its president was suspended. "At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning," he said on X. The government has been seeking to remove Constitutional Tribunal judges appointed by the previous right-wing administration led by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party. Against this backdrop, dozens of police officers guarded the building's entrance as supporters of the now-opposition PiS gathered to protest the suspension of the Tribunal's president, Bogdan Święczkowski. Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek told journalists that he had requested the lifting of the immunity of Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański. The suspension was announced by Constitutional Tribunal judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska. 'Coup d'état': Tribunal denounces the move In a post on its official X account, the Tribunal described the move as a "coup d'état". "Ms. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal," the post said. "All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'état." Outside the court, PiS supporters chanted "Tusk traitor", according to an AFP journalist at the scene. Some protesters prayed while holding Catholic rosaries and religious images. During the PiS party's time in power from 2015 to 2023, the European Union accused Poland's highest court of being too closely aligned with the government. The court ruled on several occasions that Polish law took precedence over EU legislation. Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to resolve the dispute with Brussels after winning the 2023 election, but President Karol Nawrocki has blocked his appointments to the court.