Poland president aborts Senegal trip after police enter Constitutional Tribunal and court chief suspended

Poland’s president called off a working trip to Senegal on Friday after police moved onto the grounds of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal and the court’s president was suspended, prompting an immediate return to Warsaw by the presidential aircraft. ([ca.marketscreener.com](https://ca.marketscreener.com/news/polish-president-turns-back-from-senegal-trip-as-top-court-chief-suspended-ce785fdbd18df526?utm_source=openai))

"At such a moment the president must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning," President Karol Nawrocki wrote on X as he announced the decision to turn the plane back. ([prezydent.pl](https://www.prezydent.pl/aktualnosci/wydarzenia/prezydent-przerywa-lot-do-senegalu-i-wraca-do-polski%2C129297?utm_source=openai))

The Warsaw police said officers entered the tribunal’s grounds after incidents during demonstrations outside the building, reporting that objects had been thrown at officers; authorities described the intervention as an effort to secure the site and to protect judges and staff. The move came amid chaotic scenes around the court. ([polskieradio.pl](https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7784/Artykul/3747780%2Cupdate-polish-president-turns-back-from-senegal-trip-as-top-court-chief-suspended?utm_source=openai))

Leadership of the court suspended

The Constitutional Tribunal published a notice on its official channels saying that its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, had been suspended from duty. The announcement deepened an institutional standoff that has left the court’s work effectively paralysed for an extended period as rival political factions dispute appointments. ([ca.marketscreener.com](https://ca.marketscreener.com/news/polish-president-turns-back-from-senegal-trip-as-top-court-chief-suspended-ce785fdbd18df526?utm_source=openai))

The president’s return underscored how the dispute over the tribunal has become a flashpoint in Polish politics: a long-running conflict over who may be sworn in as judges and the court’s independence has repeatedly spilled into public protests and legal fights. Analysts say Friday’s developments mark a new escalation. ([ca.marketscreener.com](https://ca.marketscreener.com/news/polish-president-turns-back-from-senegal-trip-as-top-court-chief-suspended-ce785fdbd18df526?utm_source=openai))

Polish authorities and the tribunal offered competing statements in the evening; the presidency confirmed Nawrocki’s decision to interrupt the trip, while police appealed for calm and said their actions were carried out within legal bounds. International and domestic media continued to monitor events in Warsaw as they unfolded. ([prezydent.pl](https://www.prezydent.pl/aktualnosci/wydarzenia/prezydent-przerywa-lot-do-senegalu-i-wraca-do-polski%2C129297?utm_source=openai))

Photo: press material from the event