Polish policemen accused of stun gun brutality go on trial
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
12.07.2018 12:30
Four policemen on Thursday went on trial in Poland over the 2016 death of a 25-year-old man who prosecutors say was assaulted with an electric stun gun.
Photo: PAP/Aleksander Koźmiński
The officers, who are being tried by a district court in the south-western city of Wrocław, are charged with psychological and physical abuse of a detained person and of overstepping their authority, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The accused policemen face up to five years in prison if found guilty, according to IAR.
Several days of unrest took place in Wrocław city centre after the 25-year-old, named Igor Stachowiak, died at a local police station in May 2016 amid reports of police brutality, IAR noted.
Wrocław's police chief and two other officials were dismissed in May last year after private television broadcaster TVN aired footage of Stachowiak being shot with a stun gun inside the bathroom of a police station while wearing handcuffs.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR