LGBT activists block entrance to education ministry in protest against its chief

Three teenagers chained themselves to the gates of the Ministry of Education and Science at 25 Szucha Avenue in Warsaw. They are members of the LGBT+ Youth forum: Laura Kwoczała, Wiktoria Magnuszewska and Franek Broda. Tvn24.pl reporter Justyna Suchecka has confirmed that the last one is Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki'a nephew.

"The young activists plan to protest in front of the ministry for 24 hours. They also plan to launch a hunger strike. Representatives of the Helsinki Foundation are here to monitor the course of the demonstration. The Greens have brought the teenagers a blanket, as despite the summer weather, they were cold from the concrete they sit at. A demonstration in solidarity with the protesters has been set for 17:30," Suchecka informed.

"The teenagers have symbolically taped their mouths. They remove it only to speak with the police. They are reluctant to speak to the media, although at one point Franek was asked if his uncle knew he was staging a protest here. He replied he wasn't the addressee of the question, but his uncle was," she said in the morning.

She added that Deputy Education Minister Tomasz Rzymkowski was asked if someone would come out to the protesters. "He informed, however, that he wasn't in," the reporter said. The situation changed in the afternoon. "Deputy Minister Rzymkowski invited the teenagers to the ministry. Wiktoria Magnuszewska is watching the protesters' base," Suchecka said after 2 p.m.

After 12, on the other side of the Szucha Avenue, in front of the ministry, an older man appeared holding banners saying: "I think, I feel, I don't kill" and "zone free of LGBT+ gender ideology". "The teens responded to the man through a loudspeaker: "whoever you are, we wish you the best" - Suchecka said. He was later joined by another man, expanding the counter-protest to two persons.

"The ministry allowed the teens to use the toilet in turns. They don't have break the protest, instead they go inside alternately," the tvn24.pl reporter said before 1 p.m. An hour later, she said that a girl living next to the ministry brought the protesters a mattress. "The counter-protesters went home," Suchecka said.

The activists held banners saying: "you have blood on your hands", "LGBT+ are people", "establish your own virtues", "they banned loving, it's allowed to fear". "Three persons are sitting right at the entrance to the ministry. Theoretically, they are chained to the gate, but the chain doesn't look too strong and it would be easy to break it. The protesters are playing quotes, read out by someone, from minister Czarnek about LGBT, women and religion," tvnwarszawa.pl reporter Mateusz Szmelter said earlier on.

The entrance has been cordoned off with police tape. "A few officer stand next to the protesters, while the rest positioned themselves along the Szucha Avenue. In total, there are over a dozen police officers involved," Szmelter said.

"Sorry for inconvenience, we've got minister Czarnek to topple. Three teenagers are blocking the entrance to the building, chaining themselves to it. Why? In protest against the repulsive policy of hate and disdain of Minister Czarnek" - the LGBT+ Youth forum informed on Facebook in the morning.