"Joanna's courage proves that when even a single victimized person is brave enough to speak out and stand against this government, they can really help to make a change," Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk said on Wednesday (July 19). This way he commented on the police intervention in Kraków against a hospitalized woman, named Joanna, who had taken an abortion pill and was later questioned and searched by the officers. Tusk called upon his supporters to take part in the "Million Hearts March" on October 1.
The woman, whose name is Joanna, decided to take an abortion pill as the pregancy posed danger to her health. As her mental and physical condition was getting worse, she notified her doctor. In the hospital, Joanna was questioned and searched by the police, who also seized her laptop and phone.
Furthermore, the woman claims the officers surrounded her, ordered her to undress, do squats and cough, even though she was still bleeding.
Looking into Joanna's complaint against having her items taken away, the court said that not only the woman had not been even a suspect, but no charges against her had been even considered.
The story of Joanna was revealed on Tuesday by "Fakty" TVN reporter Renata Kijowska.
Tusk: women seeking care faced heartless state machine
Civic Platform chairman Donald Tusk said at a press conference on Wednesday that at the hospital Joanna had been "surrounded and humiliated by the police in the assist of the prosecutor". "They trampled her dignity, taking away her property, her phone, her laptop. All of it happened in a gynecological room," he stressed.
"This shocking picture is something more than yet another tragedy of a Polish woman in the state run by PiS. We all remember those tragic events connected with aggressive, oppressive presence of PiS, the ruling party, officers and prosecutors, in places where there should be no one else but the patient, the doctor, and the family," Tusk said. In this context, he also reminded the pregnant women who had died in hospitals in Pszczyna, Częstochowa, or Nowy Targ.
In his opinion, they were women who sought care and support, but encountered a "heartless state machine and PiS ideology" as well as an "ambush by the police and prosecutor's office".
"Joanna's courage proves that when even a single victimized person is brave enough to speak out and stand against this government, they can really help to make a change," the former prime minister added.
"Million Hearts March"
Według lidera PO marsz 4 czerwca przywrócił całej Polsce nadzieję na to, że zmiana jest możliwa. "Wtedy, kiedy ludzie są razem i nie boją się powiedzieć tej władzy wprost, co o niej myślą (...) wtedy czujemy, że ten dzień tej zmiany, która jest niezbędna, żeby Polskę uratować przed tą czarną nocą jest naprawdę tuż tuż" - mówił Tusk.
According to Civic Platform leader, the July 4 march has restored hope across Poland that a change is possible. "Whenever people stand together and are not afraid to tell this government what they think about it ... we then feel that the day of change, which is necessary in order to save Poland from this dark night, is coming really, really soon," he said.
Donald Tusk explained the march is to demonstrate a few weeks ahead of the election that there are more "good, courageous, and determined people". "We won't let evil run rumpant at the highest levels of power, but also in our everyday life."
He also urged everyone, regardless of their views, to take part in the march on October 1. Tusk also stressed that the upcoming parliamentary election would determine what Poland would become in October.
"You don't even need a very vivid imagination, it's enough to read what PiS and Confederation have already prepared in their projects. And you will know immediately how Poland will look like if we let them continue to rule in Poland," Tusk said.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24, PAP