Police with letters to another television station. "We will definitely not release any recordings to this government"

According to the wPolce24.tv portal, after an analysis by the legal department, the television refused to provide the materials to law enforcement agencies. The station's editor-in-chief, Jacek Karnowski, called the services' action "a disturbing signal" and announced a "firm defense of freedom of speech and media pluralism."

Earlier on Thursday, plain-clothed police officers entered the headquarters of TV Republika and left an official letter at the reception desk demanding the release of video recordings of the public meeting that took place in mid-October in front of the seat of the Constitutional Tribunal. The editorial office of wPolce24 informed that it had received a similar request.

Lawyers of wPolsce24 television found that the police did not provide a "sufficient and precise legal basis" that would oblige the editorial office to hand over unbroadcast journalistic materials to law enforcement authorities. Therefore, the station decided not to transmit the recordings at this stage.

"An extremely disturbing procedure"

The station's editor-in-chief, Jacek Karnowski, commented on the situation on wPolsce24. He admitted that although requests from law enforcement agencies to release materials occur during investigations, sending plain-clothes police officers directly to the editorial office is an "extremely disturbing procedure and unheard of in current press practice."

He spoke about "lack of trust in the intentions of the authorities and fear for the safety of the demonstration participants."

"We will certainly not release any recordings from the Constitutional Tribunal to this authority, I can say this because we have low trust and it may be used, for example, to investigate or identify protest participants. So we will definitely not do it and I can declare this on our behalf," assured the editor-in-chief of wPolsce24.

The prosecutor requested materials from TV Republika

On Thursday afternoon, Julia Szozda, spokeswoman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Szczecin, informed PAP that as part of the investigation initiated by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, regarding the incidents of October 16 before the Constitutional Tribunal - to the detriment of police officers and the Prime Minister - the prosecutor demanded the editor-in-chief of TV Republika to hand over materials.

This includes recordings from demonstrations, logs from broadcasting and strip creation systems, and organizational documentation of the station, including copies of licenses, copies of employee documentation in the form of work schedules, division of duties, and attendance lists.

Proc. Szozda emphasized that the request did not concern electronic devices or documents covered by journalistic secrecy.