Thousands of people took to the streets in July 2017 in cities all over Poland to demand respect for the Polish Constitution, an independent judiciary, and for their human rights and freedoms. Those demonstrations were met with a show of force and a set of policing measures that often infringed on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. The Polish authorities must refrain from using criminal sanctions against people who have participated in peaceful assemblies. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression must be protected.
