A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry (MSWiA) said that police have so far detained 11 people aged 15 to 68 following the attack in Kraków. The detentions concern posts glorifying the perpetrator and threatening further attacks.
The ministry announced the number of detainees on Thursday, 12 November, on X, quoting a post by the ministry’s spokesperson Karolina Gałecka. According to it, the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime (CBZC) and officers across the country are monitoring the internet on an ongoing basis following the tragedy in Kraków.
On Monday, the ministry reported nine detainees, including a Ukrainian citizen, against whom further steps were planned. We wrote about this in our article about the nine people detained over posts after the attack.
20-year-old from Łomża charged
On Thursday, police described one of the cases. Officers from the CBZC in Łódź came across a comment on Sunday by a resident of Łomża County, posted under a post about the crime on the Main Market Square. The author praised the perpetrator and wrote that he himself felt like killing.
Officers from Łomża detained the 20-year-old at his home. In his room they found a tactical knife, which they seized along with his phone. The man explained that he wrote the post under the influence of emotion and stress, and then deleted it. He was charged with publicly inciting a crime and approving of a criminal offence, which carries a penalty of up to 3 years in prison.
Iława and Elbląg: Tuesday detentions
On Tuesday, 10 November, police also detained a 40-year-old from Iława Commune and a 68-year-old from Elbląg. According to police, the first threatened to kill other people on social media and praised the perpetrator from Kraków. He admitted he published the post after drinking alcohol and deleted it after sobering up. Nothing indicating an intention to carry out the threats was found in his flat. The prosecutor imposed police supervision on him.
The 68-year-old caused a disturbance in the secretariat of the Elbląg City Hall. He was vulgar, allegedly threatened staff, praised the attacker and announced he would do the same in Elbląg. He was detained at his place of residence and taken to a police cell; police announced he would be charged.
What penalties apply
Police point out that publicly approving of a criminal offence alone is punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or up to one year in prison. Threats that cause a justified fear of their being carried out are punishable by up to 3 years’ imprisonment. Causing a false alarm by creating the belief that the lives of many people are in danger carries a penalty of 6 months to 8 years in prison.
In their statements, police stress that deleting a post does not protect against liability. We reported earlier events in our coverage of the attack on the Main Market Square.
