Police in the western city of Zielona Gora entered the apartment of a journalist from the main Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on Saturday and seized his employer’s computer over an alleged threat to a politician.
Warsaw Police spokesman Sylwester Marczak said police discovered threats against two Polish politicians from different political parties, including one sent from the journalist’s IP address.
“Our results indicated a concrete IP and physical address,” Marczak said. “This is the reason for our action.
“Upon entering the apartment, we had no idea we would be dealing with a reporter,” the spokesperson said.
Gazeta Wyborcza wrote on Saturday that journalist Piotr Bakselerowicz had been ordered to hand over his work laptop, “which contains material protected by the Journalistic Secrecy Act.
“The agents also seized the (other) laptops of the journalist and his phone,” added the daily.
“The pretext for the seizure of his work equipment was an email containing threats against Jerzy Materna, a PiS (Law and Justice Party – PAP) deputy from Zielona Gora,” Gazeta Wyborcza wrote.
Marczak told PAP that police officers follow a unique procedure when dealing with threats.
“It doesn’t matter to us if someone is on the right or left side of the political scene, or if they are in the middle,” he said.
He also said that under current regulations, police can search and seize items without a warrant. “This activity only requires (subsequent) approval,” Marczak said.
“It is more important to act quickly, because a delay can have a significant impact on the obtaining of evidence or the arrest of the perpetrator,” he added.
In a statement posted on his newspaper’s website, Bakselerowicz firmly denied sending threats to anyone.
