Police and Medics Called to TV Republika Journalist's Home; Force Says No Provocation

Emergency call to a journalist's flat

TV Republika said that on the evening of 23 October officers and paramedics arrived at the Ochota district flat of Adrian Stankowski, one of its reporters, after a caller reported that a person inside needed help (Policja i służby medyczne u dziennikarza TV Republika. Jest reakcja funkcjonariuszy – Wprost) (Policja odpowiada na oskarżenia TV Republika. "Nic wspólnego z prowokacją" – Onet). The station said the call was the latest in a series of false alarms and described it as a provocation.

According to the station, several false alarms were made in recent months at the homes of its journalists and at its offices, and the police have not yet identified who was behind them. Stankowski said that someone is using his personal data and that he intends to file a notification of a suspected crime (Policja w mieszkaniu dziennikarza Republiki. Fałszywy alarm – Do Rzeczy).

Police dispute the provocation claim

The Warsaw police rejected the station's account. In a statement, they said the emergency response in Ochota had nothing to do with a provocation and that the mix-up came from an address recorded in the report. During the visit, an officer told Stankowski that the caller had asked for medical help and that no one in the flat required assistance.

The officer said the caller had described a woman named Lena, a claim Stankowski denied, saying he lives there with his wife and that no such person had ever stayed in the flat. Stankowski also said the same pattern had appeared in other cases involving media figures.

Background

The incident follows a mid-May intervention at the Warsaw flat of Tomasz Sakiewicz, head of TV Republika, after a call about a supposed threat to life. In the following days, several similar alarms were reported at addresses linked to the opposition, and police later carried out a series of detentions in connection with those calls.