Poland’s courts stage first “Night of Open Courts” with mock trials and police demonstrations

Almost 70 Polish courts will throw open their doors on Friday evening for the country’s first-ever “Night of Open Courts,” offering the public mock trials of notorious cases, police arrest simulations and behind-the-scenes tours, the justice ministry said.

The Supreme Court of Poland in Warsaw.

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The event—timed to coincide with Europe’s Day of Justice—is designed to demystify the judiciary and highlight how courts “stand guard over citizens’ rights and freedoms,” the ministry said in a statement.

Visitors to the district court in Bydgoszcz can watch a re-enactment of a 17th-century witchcraft prosecution, while the regional court in Włocławek will stage a dramatized hearing of the 1932 murder case against socialite Rita Gorgonowa.

In Racibórz, actors will revisit the 1970s trial of serial killer Zdzisław Marchwicki, dubbed the “Vampire of Zagłębie,” and display a communist-era courtroom office with vintage equipment.

Radom’s regional court has enlisted police and prison officers to demonstrate the arrest of a suspect, a custody hearing and a hostage-rescue drill in its car park.

Warsaw’s Praga courts will offer guided tours of holding cells, archives and court police facilities, plus a mock mediation session and a lecture by probation officers on online hate among teenagers. Gdynia’s court will lead visitors “along the trail of court documents” from filing room to archive.

Click here for the full program.

(jh)

Source: PAP