Poland's Council of Ministers adopted anti-terrorism law

On Tuesday, May 10, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland adopted an anti-terrorism bill, announced in March 2016. Next, the bill has to be passed by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, and will come into force on June 1, 2016. The bill will give many rights to the Internal Security Agency (ABW), which is to be the main actor in anti-terrorism policy in Poland. It will regulate cooperation between departments, clarifying the principle of the use of troops and weapons. The project will also allow the ABW's head to monitor foreigners suspected of terrorism, control their electronic mail and open packages during three months (after that, only in accordance to court approval). The bill will also oblige everyone buying SIM cards and those who currently use them to provide personal data, such as an address and identifying documents. Four alarm levels of terrorist threat in the country and emergency cyberspace are included as well. Meanwhile, using drones in case of terrorist attacks is being considered. "There are some groups of people and different kind of organizations in Poland, for whom raiders' and bandits' rights are more important than victims, and they want to impose political correctness on us. However, the government will always advocate for victims," said Mariusz Błaszczak, the Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration.