Charges brought by Polish authorities against two activists who face possible prison sentences of up to 10 years for a poster campaign should be immediately dropped said Amnesty International (AI).
The activists were detained and charged last week, after they put up posters in Warsaw accusing the government of manipulating COVID-19 statistics. They were charged with “theft and burglary” for removing the glass covering of advertisements on bus shelters to replace them with their own posters, despite not having taken anything with them.
“Threatening activists who simply stuck up posters with criminal proceedings that could lead to 10 years in prison is a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence critical voices,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Europe Director.