Piotr Niemczyk arrested following Warsaw climate protest

Piotr Niemczyk, a former intelligence officer and opposition activist, has been taken into custody in Warsaw. The Prison Service confirmed that Niemczyk is currently being held in a penitentiary facility.

The arrest follows a court ruling related to a May 2025 climate protest organized by the group ‘Ostatnie Pokolenie’. During the demonstration, activists blocked traffic on a bridge in Warsaw to draw attention to the climate crisis. A total of 26 participants were sentenced to community service for obstructing traffic.

Niemczyk and Paweł Kasprzak, a leader of ‘Obywatele RP’, both refused to perform the community service sentences. Consequently, the court replaced their community service with 15-day terms of arrest. Kasprzak has criticized the legal proceedings, arguing that the use of mandatory judgments deprived defendants of their right to defense and that converting community service into imprisonment is unlawful. Kasprzak also noted that Niemczyk’s involvement differed from his own, claiming Niemczyk was standing on the sidewalk with a sign rather than sitting in the roadway due to a leg injury.