Who do the police protect?
Online discussion

Mass bookings, threats, unjustified and unpunished use of excessive force on protesters show that violence in Polish police is a systemic problem. Reports of human rights organisations paint the picture of a broad spectrum of repressive practices applied to intimidate the unruly. The abuse of police powers requires institutional solutions, as it is not only an incidental occurrence within the last weeks.

To discuss these issues, we invited the representatives of the Office of the Polish Ombudsman, Panoptykon Foundation as well as activists working in tenants, queer, women’s, anti-racist and pro-refugee movements. Our meetings will conclude with discussions with Belorussian activists about grass-roots tools of defence against police repression, and with British artists about Black Lives Matter protests in London and their impact on the public debate about police activities.

We are planning a live stream on Biennale’s Facebook.

You can leave your questions in the comments under the video.

Programme

Part I
16:00–16:45
Police brutality – towards the diagnosis of the problem

Przemysław Kazimirski (Ombudsman Office – National Preventive Mechanisms for the Prevention of Torture)
Wojciech Klicki (Fundacja Panoptykon)

Moderator:

Presentations and discussion in Polish, no interpreting

[16:45–17:00 break]

Part II
17:00–18:05
Repressive police practices in social experience

Jarosław Urbański (OZZ Inicjatywa Pracownicza)
Magdalena Dropek (Queerowy Maj, Równość.org.pl Fundation)
Katarzyna Czarnota (Adam Mickiewicz University)
Piotr Środa, Cracow activist
Klementyna Suchanow (Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet – Women’s Strike)

Moderator:

Presentations and discussion in Polish, no interpreting

[18:05–18:15 break]

Part III
18:15–18:45
Towards grass-roots mobilisation strategies. Inga Hajdarowicz in conversation with Belorussian activists

Conversation and discussion in Polish, no interpreting

Part IV
18:45–19:15
Ghost Town. Sylwia Serafinowicz in conversation with Keith Piper and Drillminister

Conversation and discussion in English, no interpreting