Polish president turns back from Senegal trip as top court chief suspended

Polish President ​Karol Nawrocki turned back ​his plane ‌en route ​to Senegal on Friday after police entered the premises of ‌Poland's top court and its president was suspended. "At a moment like this, the President must be ‌in Poland. I am cutting short my flight ‌to Senegal. I am returning," he said on X.

Police said officers entered the premises of the Constitutional Tribunal after ⁠incidents ​outside ⁠the court, including the throwing of dangerous objects at police. The ⁠tribunal said on its website that the court's ​president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, had been suspended on Friday.

A ⁠long-running political dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal has effectively ⁠paralysed ​the institution. Earlier this year, Nawrocki, an ally of Poland's former nationalist government, refused to ⁠swear in three of six judges nominated by parliament, ⁠while Swieczkowski ⁠declined to allow judges elected by the current parliamentary majority to assume their ‌duties.