Poland's political crisis has intensified after heavily armed police surrounded the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday night amid an escalating power struggle between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Karol Nawrocki. The officers cordoned off the court's headquarters but did not enter the building. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska requested the deployment, citing possible threats to the safety of judges and administrative staff.

The confrontation escalated after Korwin-Piotrowska suspended the Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, for one month. She temporarily assumed control of the institution. According to Poland's official news agency PAP, the suspensions followed allegations that the two officials had failed to perform their duties properly and prevented legally appointed judges, including Korwin-Piotrowska, from participating in proceedings.

Following the decision, the suspended officials' profiles disappeared from the court's website. The Tribunal alleged an "illegal takeover" of its website and said Korwin-Piotrowska had no authority to represent the institution. It also warned that those involved were "committing the crime of coup d'état".

The dispute dates back to early 2026, when Nawrocki refused to administer oaths to three of the six judges selected by Parliament. Tusk's government has also refused to recognise rulings issued by judges appointed under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) administration. Nawrocki and Święczkowski, meanwhile, have rejected the appointments made by the Sejm in 2026. Korwin-Piotrowska is among the disputed judges whose oath Nawrocki rejected and whose participation in hearings Święczkowski blocked.

Defending his government's actions, Tusk said restoring the rule of law remained a priority after years of disputes under the previous administration. "Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way," Tusk wrote on X.

Nawrocki cut short his official visit to Senegal and returned to Poland. "At such a moment, the President must be in Poland. I'm interrupting my flight to Senegal. I'm returning," he wrote on X. His Chief of Staff said the President would consult Supreme Court President Kapiński over the attempted suspension of the Tribunal's head.

Meanwhile, Poland's Ambassador to China, Jakub Kumoch, resigned on Friday evening, saying that "in light of the events in the country", it was "no longer possible" for him to continue in his diplomatic position.

PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński accused Tusk's government of misusing state institutions to target the Tribunal and warned of growing authoritarianism. "From today, Poland becomes a police state, and from there there is already a direct path to authoritarianism, and then to totalitarianism," he said.

"The Tribunal is the guarantee of our [freedom] and sovereignty. Tusk's trampling of the law knows no limits," Kaczyński added.

European Parliament members associated with PiS also condemned the developments. MEP Arkadiusz Mularczyk called the incident a coup, alleging that government agents had unlawfully entered the Tribunal to prevent accredited judges from accessing the premises.

Former prime minister and MEP Beata Szydło also criticised the operation. "Shocking scenes in Poland. Police, dispatched by the Tusk government, have forced their way into the independent Constitutional Tribunal," she wrote on X. She further alleged that security personnel guarding the building and judicial records had been dismissed and that the court's vice-president was denied entry.