Polish police detained Wojciech Olszański, a leader of the nationalist group Rodacy Kamraci who goes by the nickname "Jaszczur," in Warsaw on Thursday, 22 October, according to Gazeta. Officers took him into custody as he left a courtroom where he had a hearing scheduled, and he is to be taken to a remand centre to begin serving a prison sentence under a court order.
The arrest was carried out by officers from the district police headquarters for the Western Warsaw County, supported by the capital police unit responsible for locating and identifying wanted persons, Gazeta reports. Interior ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka confirmed the circumstances of the detention to the outlet.
Why it matters
The detention puts a prominent figure in Poland's nationalist scene behind bars and marks the enforcement of a final ruling in a hate-speech case. Two cabinet ministers framed it publicly as proof that court decisions are being carried out, a signal likely aimed at critics who argue that convictions for hate crimes are slow to take effect.
Ministers confirm the operation
Interior and Administration Minister Marcin Kierwiński announced the detention in a post on X, writing that Olszański had been taken into custody so that he could be transferred to a prison in line with a court decision. He added that the state was acting, according to Gazeta.
Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek also commented on X, saying that Olszański had been detained and sent to a prison. According to Gazeta, Żurek described the move as the execution of a final ruling by the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście for incitement to hatred on national grounds. He said anyone who breaks the law will face consequences and repeated his stated position of no tolerance for offenders.
The Warsaw Metropolitan Police said that after the necessary procedural steps, the man would be delivered to a remand centre to serve his sentence, as directed by the court, Gazeta reports.
The ruling behind the sentence
The case traces back to a 2025 conviction. The Polish Press Agency, cited by Gazeta, recalled that the Regional Court in Toruń sentenced Olszański in May 2025 to two years of restricted liberty for inciting hatred against people of Jewish nationality. That penalty took the form of unpaid, supervised community work at a rate of 20 hours per month.
In September, the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk softened the first-instance sentence, reducing the restriction of liberty to one and a half years, according to the same account.
The proceedings concerned an event on 13 August in Grudziądz, during a gathering called the National March in honour of General Tadeusz Rozwadowski. Judge Rafał Ryś, who chaired the panel, said Olszański publicly called for hatred against Jewish people because of their nationality, attributing negative traits to them, describing hostile and deceitful intentions, and presenting them as enemies of Poland who deserved to die, Gazeta reports.
What to watch
With the detention carried out, attention turns to the prison service's handling of the transfer and to how Rodacy Kamraci responds to the loss of one of its leaders.
