In brief

• Thousands of people gathered outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday evening, with police present at the site.
• US Ambassador Tom Rose described the situation as an unprecedented confrontation and urged officials, law enforcement and demonstrators to avoid actions that could provoke violence or further escalation.
• British right-wing politicians Liz Truss and Nigel Farage criticised the Polish government's handling of the Tribunal, while German media covered the escalation widely.

Diplomatic reactions

Tensions around the Constitutional Tribunal, the Polish court, rose sharply on Friday evening, with a large crowd gathering in front of its building in Warsaw and police present on the site (Świat reaguje na wydarzenia w Polsce. „Bezprecedensowe”, „szokujące” – RMF24). Reports described the events as a confrontation over how the government uses state power and over the independence of a constitutional body (Ambasador USA zabrał głos w sprawie TK. "Jesteśmy po stronie Polski" – Business Insider Polska) (Ambasador USA w Polsce komentuje wydarzenia przed TK. "Ameryka jest po stronie Polski" – Onet).

US Ambassador Tom Rose wrote on X that the situation looked like an unprecedented confrontation. He said the two sides were presenting radically different accounts of what had happened and why, and that thousands of people outside the Tribunal made an already dangerous situation more volatile (Посол США назвав "дуже серйозними" події довкола Конституційного трибуналу в Польщі – Українська правда). He called on officials, law enforcement and demonstrators alike to avoid any action that could provoke violence or further escalation. Rose added that Washington would not judge or interfere in Poland's internal affairs, but expressed concern for the country's stability, security and democratic future, describing Poland as a friend and ally (Ambasador USA w Polsce o sporze o TK: Konfrontacja to ostatnie, czego Polska potrzebuje – Rzeczpospolita).

British right-wing politicians, including former prime minister Liz Truss and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, criticised the Polish government over its handling of the Tribunal, calling it a shocking blow to democracy. German media, among them Der Spiegel, Die Welt and Bild, covered the escalation widely, pointing to the police presence, the political tensions and statements from Law and Justice (PiS) and opposition leaders.

Context

The dispute over the Tribunal has been one of the central conflicts in Polish politics, with the governing coalition and the national-conservative opposition offering opposing interpretations of the court's status (Świat reaguje na zamach na TK! "Tusk dyktator niszczy demokrację". Świat reaguje na zamach na TK! – wpolityce.pl).