Polish police detain man after 'deadly serious' threat to prime minister
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks to the media, on the day of a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
WARSAW: Polish police have detained a man suspected of planning an attack on Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Interior Minister said on Sunday (Oct 11), after it warned earlier of a threat to Tusk and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
"The man who threatened and planned an attack on Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been detained by Polish police," Marcin Kierwinski wrote on X, without giving further details.
Tusk thanked the police for "swift and decisive action" in a separate post on X.
Polish security services earlier convened a special meeting after receiving information about a potential attack, a spokesperson said.
Special services spokesperson Jacek Dobrzynski said he could not go into details but authorities were treating the threat as "deadly serious".
"We are talking about a high probability of these threats being carried out," he told reporters.
Interior Ministry Spokesperson Karolina Galecka said an email with information about the potential attack had been forwarded to police by the State Protection Service, which is responsible for ministers' security.
While violent crime is relatively rare in Poland, the country is deeply polarised politically and has faced security threats due to its proximity to the war in Ukraine.
In August, police detained a 23-year-old man accused of calling for the assassination of senior Polish politicians.
In 2024, Tusk said he received threats after an assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
