"Pursuant to Article 53 of the Broadcasting Act, I am requesting the initiation of proceedings to impose a fine on the broadcaster Telewizja Republika SA due to breach of obligations arising from, among others, Article 18 of the Act," wrote the Marshal of the Sejm in a letter addressed to the chairwoman of the National Broadcasting Council.
He recalled that "pursuant to Article 18 of the Act, television broadcasts may not promote activities that are contrary to the law, the Polish raison d'état, or attitudes and views contrary to morality and social good, and may not promote behavior that threatens health or safety." He added that "in the event of a breach of the above-mentioned obligations, the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council is obliged, in the light of Article 53 of the Act, to issue a decision imposing a financial penalty on the responsible broadcaster."
"In connection with the content of the materials published by Telewizja Republika in recent days, I am asking the National Broadcasting Council to immediately take actions specified by the constitutional and statutory framework of its activities. The objectionable statements presented in the broadcaster's programs concerned events related to the terrorist attack in Krakow on November 7, 2026, and included, among others, content that violated the good name of Police officers responsible for ensuring security," Czarzasty explained.
He pointed out that the systemic role of the National Broadcasting Council, resulting from Art. 213 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, is supervision in the public interest of the activities of broadcasters. "This involves the obligation to respond to violations of regulations by broadcasters, in particular to counteract practices that undermine reliable verification of information and violate constitutional values and principles, such as respect for dignity and truth," he emphasized.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka also commented on the TV Republika issue on Tuesday.
There is no TV Republika at the conference today and it is not a coincidence. I don't think I need to justify it. They just weren't invited, he said.
When asked by a PAP journalist, he explained that TV Republika had not received accreditation.
During Saturday's report from Krakow, Republika's editor-in-chief, Tomasz Sakiewicz, stated that "there is no police on site, as all its reserves have probably been taken to Warsaw." In fact, one of the policemen was standing right behind Sakiewicz. He was in civilian clothes, with a black jacket, cap and balaclava, and a police emblem was visible on his left shoulder.
A complaint to the National Broadcasting Council against Telewizja Republika was also filed by, among others, Minister of Culture Marta Cienkowska. The Centrum Club announced that it would submit a notification to the prosecutor's office about the suspicion that Sakiewicz had committed the crime of defaming the police.
Sakiewicz responded to the allegations on Monday on the X platform. "For several dozen hours, we have been witnessing an unprecedented attack on Republika TV and me personally," he wrote. According to him, the "attackers" of TV Republika want to "ban its activity in the media and turn off the station."
"The pretext for this is my report from the scene of the attack in the Krakow market square. Being the first journalist to start a direct report, I drew attention to the complete lack of police. Specifically, as it turned out, there was only one police criminal section technician in sight and camera range, who undertook to secure the area near one of the victims. Seeing what I saw and hearing what I heard, I couldn't honestly tell the viewers anything else," he pointed out. According to him, "the question whether the lack of police resulted from their involvement elsewhere was confirmed by the facts" (original spelling - ed.).
The National Council announced on Monday that in connection with complaints about Telewizja Republika, its chairman, Agnieszka Glapiak, had launched explanatory actions.
On Saturday after 15, a masked 24-year-old drove his car onto the Main Square in Krakow and opened fire on random people. As a result of the attack, six people died and 15 were injured. The perpetrator was shot; he died on Monday morning.
