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Protest outside Polish education ministry over abortion law, traffic blocked

23.11.2020 19:15
Demonstrators on Monday staged a protest against tighter abortion laws in front of the education ministry in the Polish capital, with some chaining themselves to a gate.
Demonstrators outside the Polish education ministry on Monday.
Demonstrators outside the Polish education ministry on Monday. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka

Around a dozen demonstrators blocked the entrance gate to the ministry in central Warsaw. Several people were detained, Polish media reported.

Demonstrators called for the resignation of Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek, a conservative who has said teachers should not take part in protests over Poland’s abortion laws.

Protestors also blocked traffic in the capital, including on the Łazienkowska artery.

In defiance of a ban on mass gatherings amid a COVID-19 epidemic, tens of thousands of women, liberals and anti-government demonstrators have been taking to the streets around the country since an October 22 ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal which signalled a near-total ban on abortion in Poland.

President Andrzej Duda subsequently submitted a bill that would mean less severe rules than that signalled by the tribunal’s decision.

(pk)

Source: IAR