WARSAW (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Warsaw on Thursday to protest reforms by the pro-European Union (EU) Polish government as the country suffers post-election turmoil.
The administration, led by a former European Council president Donald Tusk, ousted the right-wing populists of the Law and Justice (PiS) party in October elections.
Since then the two camps have frequently clashed over rule of law issues. The bitter conflict has been highlighted by the case of two prominent PiS ex-lawmakers who were arrested on Tuesday at the presidential palace in Warsaw.
The men had been seeking refuge there on an invitation from the conservative head of state Andrzej Duda, allied with PiS, who announced he would pardon the pair as he considered them “political prisoners”.
Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik were convicted in December and sentenced to two years in prison following a long legal dispute dating back to 2007.
