New anti-terrorism rules: mass gatherings to be banned

On June 22, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into law an anti-terror bill which comes into force as Poland prepares to host a NATO summit and the Roman Catholic Church’s World Youth Days in July. The new law will allow the interior minister to ban mass gatherings and events if a third- or fourth-level terror alert is declared. The government says the measures will increase the efficiency of Polish anti-terrorist operations and improve coordination between security services, while the opposition politicians and human rights organizations have criticized the law, and called on Duda not to sign it, claiming the new rules will limit citizens' rights. Earlier in May, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland adopted an anti-terrorism bill. The bill gives many rights to the Internal Security Agency (ABW), which is to be the main actor in anti-terrorism policy in Poland.