Amnesty urges Poland to stop harassing judges, prosecutors

WARSAW, Poland – Amnesty International has called on Poland’s government to “immediately stop” disciplinary proceedings and “serious harassment” of judges and prosecutors who oppose government steps that undermine judiciary independence.

The group released a report Thursday listing the cases of 10 judges and prosecutors who have been transferred to lower-ranking jobs. It says they also received personal attacks online from accounts that Amnesty has linked to Polish officials.

It said the government discredited older judges as a “special cast” from the communist days, and recalled that the prime minister has likened them to Nazi collaborators during World War II.

The report calls on the right-wing government to stop such practices and to reverse the changes it made to the judiciary that have drawn condemnation from European Union institutions.