Shooting at immigrants was allowed in Poland

Polish lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a new law that would allow the military and border guards to fire live ammunition at migrants trying to cross into the country illegally from Belarus. The law was adopted following the tragic death of a Polish border guard last week, who was killed by a spear thrown by an immigrant from the territory of Belarus.

Polish lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved a new law that would allow the military and border guards to fire live bullets at migrants trying to cross into the country illegally from Belarus.

The law came from the territory of Belarus last week It was accepted after the tragic death of a Polish border guard who was killed by a thrown spear.

401 parliamentarians voted for the adoption of the law in the Polish Sejm, only 17 voted against it.

The new law exempts officers who carry weapons from liability if they use them in self-defense or to "prevent" an "unlawful attack on the integrity of state borders" when the "life, health and liberty" of law enforcement officers are at risk.

On Saturday, Polish soldiers and border guards again faced a conflict involving a large number of illegal immigrants. In the video footage published in Polish mass media, it was shown that the military formed a defensive line behind the shield, and groups of migrants stood twenty meters away. One of the migrants threw a spear at the border guards, and the border guards threw electric shock shells at them .

Amnesty International criticized the new law, saying it could have dangerous consequences.

Refugees trying to cross the Polish -Belarusian border are mainly from Iraq, Afghanistan , Middle East and African countries. Their number is constantly growing - in 2023, about 26 thousand immigrants from neighboring Belarus came to Poland . This is almost 10 thousand more than in 2022.