Poland Page 1 of 12
2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Poland Page 1 of 12 Facing the Threat Posed by Iranian Regime | Daily Press Briefing | Other News... Poland Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 8, 2006 Poland, with a population of 39 million, is a multiparty democracy with a bicameral parliament. Executive power is shared by the prime minister, the council of ministers, and, to a lesser extent, the president. On September 25, free and fair parliamentary elections were held. Lech Kaczynski was elected president in a free and fair election on October 23. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. The following human rights problems were reported: poor prison conditions occasional lengthy pretrial detention a poorly functioning judicial system restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press discrimination against women in the labor market the sexual exploitations of children trafficking in women and children societal discrimination and violence against ethnic minorities violations of workers' rights and antiunion discrimination RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. In May 2004 police officers in Lodz accidentally used live ammunition rather than gum bullets to pacify crowds at a student festival, and two people were killed. As a result of this incident and the ensuing investigation, 12 police officers faced disciplinary action, including the Lodz regional police commander, city commander, and deputy city commander, who lost their jobs.
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