"The actions carried out during the investigation of the case did not give emergence to the designation that Fr Michael O. was subjected to torture within the meaning of the Constitution of Poland and under global law. Instead, they showed that there had been inhumane treatment and another violations of rights and freedoms," the Ombudsman said.
According to a communication published on Monday: in the RPO office, proceedings were conducted concerning "the correct treatment of Fr Michał O. by officers of the interior safety and Police Agency during detention, the introduction of premises for detainees, the stay in these premises and the execution of procedural activities with his involvement, the correct treatment of him by Prison Service officers during their stay in detention and the right to defence".
‘All available and obtainable papers and information’ was examined. However, the monitoring recordings were not used, as “at the time of the Ombudsman’s appearance of media information and the Ombudsman’s taking up of the case, the period of retention had already passed the provisions laid down”. According to the RPO, "the safety of the recordings may have been requested in due time by the defender of the detainee, but they did not do so and consequently the recordings were permanently removed".
As a consequence of the analyses, the RPO found that there could be no torture in the case of the arrested priest – understood in the light of the Polish Constitution and under global law. 1 was admitted that there was "inhumane treatment and another violations of rights and freedoms".
What are you talking about? This is simply a lengthy, 15-hour trial with a priest, carried out by ABW officers. The detainee was not given rest, meals, handcuffs were constantly utilized – even in safe rooms. "The intensification of oppressive conditions gives emergence to the conclusion that in this respect there has been inhumane treatment of the temporarily arrested," said the RPO.
The Ombudsman besides found that direct coercion measures were unduly applied to a priest in the Warsaw-Służewiec detention center. The priest was put in handcuffs all time he left a residential cell and another premises – specified practices were not applied to others temporarily arrested. "There were no grounds for applying specified restrictions, as no circumstances indicated that Fr Michael O.'s attitude or behaviour posed a greater threat to the safety of the unit and the Prison Service officers than others were temporarily arrested," the RPO assessed.
The allegations concerning the usage of excessive and unjustified means of direct coercion by police officers during the convoy of the priest for procedural activities were besides confirmed. "In addition to handcuffs, leg handcuffs were used; the application of this measurement was incompatible with the principles of necessity, minimisation of ailments and proportionality to the degree of danger."
Fr Olszewski could not usage sanitary facilities in a cell in a way that was unfettered – the sanitary area was not decently covered, and the activities requiring intimacy were visible to people entering the cell.
The RPO besides considered that the temporarily arrested could not usage the recommended medical check erstwhile a month. There were besides weaknesses in the way the records were kept, the way the cell was equipped, and long waiting for dietary nutrition.
Some of the allegations were not confirmed and respective were not verified, mainly due to deficiency of monitoring.
As the RPO provided, information on the findings will be sent to the competent authorities. Comments are intended to prevent akin cases in the future. Furthermore, the Ombudsman continues to analyse the allegation of breach of defence secret by attempting to question the defender of Fr Michał O., Adv. Krzysztof Wąsowski, as a witness.
A full RPO message is available HERE
At the Office #RPO proceedings were conducted regarding the correct treatment of Fr. Michał O. by ABW and Police officers during the detention, bringing to the premises for detainees, staying in these rooms and carrying out procedural activities from his... pic.twitter.com/PdvzOWAbfi
— Office of the Ombudsman (@OfficeRPO) December 23, 2024
Source: bip.brpo.gov.pl
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