In a shocking statement, Slawomir Minczen, a candidate for the upcoming 2025 Polish presidential elections, has promised that Polish border guards will shoot illegal immigrants attempting to breach the nation’s borders.
During a speech at his party’s conference, which was broadcasted on the party’s YouTube channel, Minczen stated, “If someone tries to cross the state border of Poland illegally, they should be shot.”
Minczen is the first official candidate for Poland’s presidency and leads the moderate right-wing Polish party, “New Hope.”
This declaration follows a series of attempted breaches at the Poland-Belarus border, especially in the Tshirimscha area.
At the end of 2023, there was a notable increase in attempts by illegal immigrants to penetrate the fence, with August 28th recording the highest number at 130 attempts.
In comparison, earlier days saw fewer attempts: 35 on August 27th, 60 on August 26th, and 220 over three days from August 23rd to 25th.
In mid-2021, thousands of migrants gathered at the Polish-Belarusian border, hoping to enter the European Union.
The Polish authorities have since strengthened border security, deploying military forces and blaming Minsk for the ongoing “migration crisis.”
Pope Francis criticised the tightening of immigration laws, calling for a “global governance of migration” based on humanitarian principles. In his weekly general audience on Wednesday, the Pope also emphasized the need to combat human traffickers.
The head of the Catholic Church has repeatedly expressed sorrow over the plight of many people forced to flee their countries, whether due to violence or severely poor living conditions.
“The Mediterranean has become a cemetery,” the Pope lamented, adding that most of these deaths could have been prevented. However, controlling migration through stricter laws is not the right approach, according to the Pope.
He further stated, “This cannot be achieved through stricter laws, nor by militarizing borders, nor by preventing their entry.”
