Below is a timeline of the accused Five’s case, from March 2022 to the present day:
MARCH 2022
22/03
– Border guards from the Narewka facility stop two cars which, in addition to the drivers, contain a family from Iraq and an Egyptian citizen. The four people carrying humanitarian aid are detained.
23/03
– Border Guard facility in Narewka: interrogation of the four detainees.
First charges: on March 22, 2022 in Narewka (Podlasie voivodeship), acting in conspiracy, they organized the illegal crossing of the border for a family from Iraq and an Egyptian citizen. They did this by transporting them deep into the country in two cars
The act carries a penalty of up to 8 years in prison under Polish law.
24/03
– The Hajnówka District Public Prosecutor’s Office issues a decision to open an investigation and brings charges under Article 264 §3 of the Criminal Code.
– Hajnówka District Public Prosecutor’s Office: an interrogation of four detainees takes place, they are interrogated as suspects.
– Each of the arrested persons presents 4 personal sureties signed by public figures considered to be authorities.
– Police raid the property of one of the residents of Podlasie.
– The Hajnówka District Public Prosecutor’s Office submits a request to the District Court to apply a temporary arrest for 3 months to the detained Four. It argues this on the grounds of fear of obliterating evidence of the crime and the high dimension of the potential punishment.
– District Court in Bielsk Podlaski VII Zamiejscowy Wydział Karny in Hajnówka (hereinafter District Court in Hajnówka): A hearing is being held on a motion for pre-trial detention for four detainees. The announcement of the decision is expected to take place the following day.
25/03
– The District Court in Hajnówka does not grant the prosecutor’s request for a three-month detention for humanitarian aid workers and decides to release them
JUDGE’S JUSTIFICATION: There are no grounds for the application of preventive measures due to the lack of plausible criminal elements in the suspects’ actions. In fact, detention should be used when there is a very high probability that a crime has been committed, while organizing transport for humanitarian reasons is not connected with helping to illegally cross the border. The admission of refugees in a state of neglect was a spontaneous decision, a reaction from the heart, an action to help those in a hard living situation, and this cannot be equated with direct intent to commit a crime.
– One of the detainees, holding a passport from another European Union country, is detained by Border Guard officers after a court hearing on his arrest and gets a decision requiring him to leave Poland within 3 days and a ban on entry for 5 years. As justification for this decision, the Border Guard states that the man was considered a threat to the security of the Republic of Poland. The border guards do not seem to know or take into account that the man has Polish citizenship, but does not have a PESEL (polish identification) number. Although a complaint has been filed against the decision, it has not been recognized until today.
28/03
– Hajnówka District Prosecutor’s Office merges all four into one case.
APRIL 2022
13/04
– Białystok Regional Court: a hearing is held on the prosecutor’s complaint against the failure to apply pretrial detention to the Four – the Regional Court upholds the District Court’s decisions. The humanitarian aid workers remain free.
AUGUST 2022
12/09
– Border Guard post in Siemianówka city: an interrogation is held of a Podlasie resident whose house was searched on March 24. The woman is questioned as a witness.
DECEMBER 2023
5/12
– Hajnówka District Prosecutor’s Office: the decision to present charges to the Four is amended – from now on the prosecutor’s office charges them with an act under Article 264 a §1 of the Criminal Code. The charges state:: On March 22, 2022, acting in conspiracy to obtain personal benefits for an Egyptian citizen and Iraqi nationals, they facilitated the designated persons’ stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland against the law by transporting them into the country.
– The Hajnówka District Prosecutor’s Office is charging a Podlasie resident under Article 264a §1 of the Criminal Code, accusing her of having, in the period from March 20 to March 22, 2022, with the aim of gaining personal benefit for an Egyptian citizen and Iraqi nationals, facilitated the designated persons’ stay in the territory of the Republic of Poland in violation of the law, by providing them with food and clothing during their stay in the forest, and gave them shelter and rest, and, moreover, on March 22, 2022, transported them into the country.
The act carries a penalty of 3 months to 5 years in prison.
JANUARY 2024
15/01
– The Hajnówka District Prosecutor’s Office announces the decision from December 2023 to change the charges against the Four, and announces the bringing of the charges against the fifth person – a woman from Podlasie.
MAY 2024
– The Prosecutor’s Office files an indictment against five people with the Hajnówka District Court. This comes more than two years after the events they are accused of. As of now, we are waiting for a date to be set for the first court hearing.
JANUARY 2025
28/01
– The date of the first hearing of the Five. The case is being held at the District Court in Hajnówka, 87 Warszawska Street. Time: 11:30 AM. Case reference number: VII K 120/24
On the day of the first hearing, a solidarity demonstration with the defendants took place in front of the District Court in Hajnówka.
During the first hearing of the Five, the Hajnówka District Prosecutor’s Office requested that the trial be conducted behind closed doors—meaning no media or public attendance and a ban on publicly reporting what takes place in the courtroom. The court partially granted this request, requiring the media and public to leave the courtroom for certain periods.
30/01
– Przemysław Rosati, the head of the Polish Supreme Bar Council, sends a letter to Adam Bodnar (Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General) urging the withdrawal of charges against the Five. The letter’s content can be found, among others, on the OKO.press portal, at this link [in polish] or on Przemysław Rosati’s profile on X.
– The District Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok publishes a statement regarding the criminal charges against five individuals who provided humanitarian aid at the Polish-Belarusian border. The full statement in polish can be read here.
Long statement short: The Białystok District Prosecutor’s Office claims that media reports on the case of the five accused activists are one-sided and overlook the findings of the investigation. It emphasizes that the charges do not concern humanitarian aid but rather actions facilitating the illegal stay of foreigners in Poland, including organizing transportation. The Prosecutor’s Office points out that similar cases have repeatedly been deemed unlawful by the courts and that the accused were not acting to deliver migrants to the Border Guard. The case has been brought to court, which will assess the validity of the charges. The accusation of bias in media reports is astonishing, considering that it was the Hajnówka District Prosecutor’s Office that requested the trial to be held behind closed doors during the first hearing.
31/01
– The Board of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Szpila Collective issue a joint statement in response to the District Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok. Read it here.
Summary of the statement:
On January 30, 2025, the Białystok District Prosecutor’s Office published a statement on the case of the Five, accusing the media of bias. However, the statement itself contains numerous inaccuracies and manipulations, implying a connection to human smuggling—despite the fact that the defendants were never charged with this. The Five are solely accused of “facilitating stay” and acted selflessly.
The prosecution presents this case as part of a broader trend, yet court data shows that in similar cases, only individuals acting for financial gain have been convicted. We view the motion to hold the trial behind closed doors as an attempt to silence the accused and restrict access to accurate information.
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and Kolektyw Szpila will continue to provide legal support to those facing repression for humanitarian aid. Helping is legal. No human is illegal. Pushbacks are illegal.
– Adam Bodnar publishes a statement on X, in which he writes:
“The case before the District Court in Bielsk Podlaski, in which five people have been charged with facilitating the stay of migrants in Poland in violation of regulations, requires great caution from all of us, including myself as Prosecutor General. On one hand, we have the work of individuals and organizations providing assistance to refugees at the Polish border. On the other hand, there is the need to uphold the rule of law. No one questions the intentions of the accused. However, the court must determine whether their actions crossed a red line that constitutes a criminal offense, even if motivated by the desire to help. What is the truth in this specific case? Only those who have access to the full case files and evidence know. The decision will be made by an independent court. The case, however, is deeply moving and understandably evokes strong public emotions. For this reason, yesterday, the Department of Preparatory Proceedings @PK_GOV_PL began a thorough analysis of the conducted investigation, the evidence, and the legitimacy of the charges brought in this case. The analysis will take into account all aspects of this complex matter, maintaining professionalism and caution.”
MARCH 2025
6/03
– The District Prosecutor’s Office in Hajnówka submits a request to the court in Hajnówka for the transfer of the case files to supplement the investigation with evidence from another proceeding conducted by the Lublin delegation of the National Prosecutor’s Office. If the request is not granted, they request a postponement of the next hearing and a three-month period for the prosecution to present additional evidence, arguing that this will help “eliminate evidentiary deficiencies.” More details can be found in the Polish Press Agency article.
APRIL 2025
15/04
– The second hearing of the Five. Due to high public interest, the trial is relocated to the District Court in Białystok (10:30 AM, Courtroom IV).
A solidarity demonstration is planned in front of the court starting at 9:30 AM.
Other similar cases:
March 25, 2022 – On the same day that the Four are released, the Border Guard arrests a 20-year-old volunteer of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia and accuses her of organizing illegal border crossings. In this case, too, the Prosecutor’s Office files a request for a three-month pre-trial detention – disregarded by the District Court in Sokółka city and later by the Regional Court in Bialystok city. In December 2022, the Prosecutor’s Office in Sokółka dropped the charges.