In recent months, the case of Father Michał Olszewski has sparked enormous outrage both in Poland and internationally. The cleric, detained in controversial circumstances, accuses the services of brutal treatment and humiliation, and many facts related to his detention raise serious doubts about the legality and ethics of the police and Internal Security Agency.
Brutal treatment and public humiliation at a gas station
One of the most shocking moments of Father Olszewski’s arrest was the situation at a gas station, where the priest, handcuffed, was deliberately exposed to public view. While the officers were eating hamburgers, the priest had to stand in front of numerous bystanders, which was a clear humiliation and violation of his dignity. According to reports, the police not only refused him access to the toilet, but even ordered him to urinate in a bottle in their presence, which was another humiliation.
What is particularly disturbing is that the gas station’s CCTV, which could have recorded the entire incident, mysteriously disappeared. This event only increased speculation that the services had deliberately covered up the traces of their actions, which raises questions about the transparency and honesty of the law enforcement agencies.
Torture and loss of health of the priest
The detention of Fr. Olszewski did not end with public humiliation. The priest was subjected to both physical and psychological torture. In the cell where he was held, he was not only held without basic rights of a detainee, such as access to water and food, but also forced to remain in handcuffs for long hours, even while sleeping. The police denied him access to the toilet several times, and he was only given water once, in a dirty plastic bottle that had previously been used in the cell. Such conditions led to a rapid deterioration of the priest’s health – he lost about 15 kg, which is evidence of the debilitating stress to which he was exposed.
Fr. Olszewski also reported that during his stay in the cell, he was given only two dirty blankets to sleep on, without a mattress or pillow, and the search to which he was subjected was carried out in violation of basic human rights.
As the portal dorzeczy.pl wrote: The portal wPolityce.pl has obtained evidence according to which Fr. Michał Olszewski and Urszula D. are being tortured. The National Prosecutor’s Office is refusing to allow the accused to contact their loved ones. An official of the Justice Fund, Urszula D., has not been able to contact her 15-year-old son by phone. In turn, Fr. Olszewski has not been able to contact the provincial of the Sacred Heart community, nor his confreres from the order.
Reakcje międzynarodowe i walka o sprawiedliwość
Sprawą ks. Olszewskiego zainteresowały się liczne międzynarodowe organizacje, w tym Komitet Przeciwko Torturom (CAT) oraz Rada Praw Człowieka przy ONZ, które zażądały wyjaśnień od polskich władz w sprawie brutalnego traktowania duchownego. List otwarty w tej sprawie został skierowany przez adwokata dr. Michała Skwarzyńskiego, który w imieniu obrony ks. Olszewskiego zaapelował do tych instytucji o natychmiastową interwencję. Niebawem sprawa ma trafić do Watykanu, gdyż obrońcy ks. Olszewskiego chcą poinformować Nuncjaturę Apostolską o torturach stosowanych wobec duchownego.
Napisałem skargę do Wysokiego Komisarza Ochrony Praw Człowieka przy ONZ. […] Odpisał, że wszczyna procedurę i nadaje sygnaturę wstępną. To oznacza, że będzie badał sprawę merytorycznie. Nadanie sygnatury oznacza, że nasz rząd będzie musiał odpowiedzieć na pytania Wysokiego Komisarza – wskazał mec. Michał Skwarzyński.
Również polski Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich (RPO) potwierdził, że doszło do poważnych naruszeń praw człowieka w tej sprawie. W swoim oficjalnym wystąpieniu zwrócił uwagę na liczne przypadki łamania praw księdza, w tym upokarzające traktowanie na stacji benzynowej oraz brak odpowiedniego dostępu do podstawowych środków higieny i pożywienia podczas aresztu.
A moving statement from the priest’s mother
Yesterday, the mother of Fr. Michał Olszewski spoke to the media, expressing her suffering related to the dramatic situation of her son. In an emotional interview, she spoke about how much she feels about the arrest and torture that her son experienced.
„When I saw him, my world collapsed! (…) he is my child, he is my son.” – says the mother of Fr. Michał Olszewski, who, together with her husband, took part in a picket in support of her son who is in custody. Her appeal moved many Poles, who stand in solidarity with the priest’s family and demand justice.
The case of Fr. Michał Olszewski is a symbolic example of serious abuses in the legal system and brutality that not only befell the clergyman, but also became an example of a wider problem. Public humiliation at a gas station, the disappearance of a surveillance recording and gross violations of human rights led to a scandal that is still waiting for final explanation.
