Poland 'coup' latest: Riot police deployed in Warsaw as Donald Tusk issues statement

Poland 'coup' latest: Riot police deployed in Warsaw as Donald Tusk issues statement Cops have swarmed Poland's Constitutional Court amid an escalating stand-off between the government and the court's top judges Riot police have been deployed at a court in Warsaw amid claims of a "coup d'etat". An escalating row in Poland pits the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk against his predecessors from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party. The police intervention came after Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said he had requested stripping the court's President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański of their immunity from prosecution to bring criminal charges against them. Tusk has vowed to depoliticise the judiciary, and on Friday defended the move as PiS supporters gathered outside the court premises in Warsaw to protest. In a social media post, the Constitutional Court wrote that the two judges the government wants to prosecute were still the legally appointed senior justices of the court. "All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'etat," it said. Key Events Three people arrested Polish media report three people have been arrested after allegedly jumping the fence and entering the Constitutional Tribunal grounds, according to Warsaw police. The force said: "Procedural proceedings against those detained will be conducted pursuant to Article 193 of the Penal Code. "Officers are conducting operations aimed at restoring public order and safety on Aleja Szucha in front of the Constitutional Tribunal headquarters. Dangerous objects were thrown at the officers." Polish president statement Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who was flying to Senegal, said he turned his flight back because of the situation. "At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning," he wrote on X.