Polish Soldier Acquitted After Firing Shots Toward Migrants Illegally Crossing Border

A Polish soldier who fired in the direction of migrants who had illegally crossed the border from Belarus has been found not guilty of abusing his powers and threatening the lives of others.

The judge in the case ruled that the 25-year-old soldier had been fulfilling his obligation to defend the border and said there was no evidence he had committed a crime. 

If found guilty, he could have faced up to three years in prison, according to Polish broadcaster TVN24.

Prosecutors have said they plan to appeal the verdict.

The case caused controversy in the country after the soldier, known as Karol S. under Polish privacy law, was arrested in 2024 along with two other soldiers who had fired warning shots toward migrants trying to force their way across the border.

Politicians from both the government and the opposition criticized the actions of both military police and prosecutors in pursuing charges, with former President Andrzej Duda calling it “a shocking case.”

Border Crisis

Poland has faced a crisis at its border since 2021, with Belarusian authorities accused of encouraging and assisting tens of thousands of people, mainly from Asia and Africa, to cross illegally into the European Union and claim asylum.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, opened travel agencies in the Middle East offering a new unofficial route into Europe, a move the EU and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have said was manufactured to create a crisis.

In response, Poland has bolstered both physical and electronic defences along the border, deploying thousands of additional officers there, including many from the armed forces.

As a private in the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade, Karol S. was among the border guard soldiers and officers who responded to a border violation on March 24, 2024. A group of 10 migrants used a car jack to prise apart steel barriers before crossing to the Polish side of the border. They were carrying ladders, which they allegedly intended to use to get past a barbed wire obstacle.

Warning Shots

Prosecutors said the soldier fired a dozen shots from his vehicle toward a group that consisted of the migrants, but also other Polish officers.

The migrants retreated to the Belarusian side of the border, while throwing stones and branches at the Polish officers, who responded by spraying tear gas.

Karol S. was charged by military prosecutors with exceeding his authority and putting others at risk of loss of life or serious bodily harm.

The soldier pleaded not guilty, saying that he clearly shouted, “Polish army, stop, or I’ll shoot,” before firing what he said were warning shots that did not pose a danger.

A military court in Lublin sided with the soldier and acquitted him on Wednesday.

After the verdict, Karol S., who has since discharged himself from the army, commented on the reasons the case was brought against him.

“It’s a systemic problem dating back to when Poland was under communist rule. … The Polish state has trouble protecting its citizens like it should. It’s not even so much about foreigners. The problem is that criminals have more rights than the people who are officially tasked with catching them,” he told TVN24.

Soldier Killed at Border

“It should be clearly stated that every soldier has a constitutional obligation to protect the border of Poland,” said the judge, Lt. Col. Ryszard Hunek.

The judge said that aggression toward Polish officers by migrants crossing the border had become commonplace at the time of the incident. Just a month after the incident, a young Polish soldier died after being stabbed while trying to prevent a crossing.

“What if [Karol S.] had not started shooting?” Hanek asked.

“Instead of 11 [migrants], 35 people would have crossed the border, and six officers would have stood against them. The law cannot yield to lawlessness. … The soldier was sent to the border to protect its inviolability, and that is what he did.”

Experts had been unable to determine the direction of the shots Karol S. fired, meaning they could not say whether anyone’s life was exposed to danger, the judge noted.

According to TVN24, the prosecution immediately announced its intention to appeal the not guilty verdict.

The commander of the military police defended his officers’ actions in arresting the soldiers, saying that they were “fully justified.”

In the wake of the incident and the killing of the soldier, the government introduced a new law making it easier for soldiers and other uniformed officers serving at the border to use firearms, with the Tusk government altering its libertarian stance in the face of mounting public pressure.

The deputy prosecutor general for military affairs, Tomasz Janeczek, was fired for his role in the case against the arrested soldiers after Tusk wrote to the president calling for his dismissal.

Border guards no longer face criminal liability for using their weapons in specific situations.

The government has further strengthened physical border defences and introduced a ban on asylum claims by migrants who cross irregularly from Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denies accusations of manufacturing the border crisis in retaliation for EU sanctions against Minsk over its support for Russia in the ongoing Ukraine war.