The Military Garrison Court in Warsaw acquitted lieutenant accused of inadvertently shooting a migrant while serving on the Polish-Belarusian border. The court found that the soldier was not proven carelessly handling the gun, and the PM-98 Glauberyt device weapon could have fired itself during the fall.
It was decided on Wednesday 21 October, almost 3 years after the event in the Białowieża Forest. Lt. Adam L. was liable for the careless handling of service weapons resulting in the injury of a Syrian citizen. The Prosecutor's Office demanded conditional dismissal of the proceedings and a payment of PLN 2,000 to the victim. The defence claimed acquittal. The court has acceded to her position, considering that the evidence collected does not let the officer to be attributed to the alleged crime.
Justifying the sentence, justice Michael Żak pointed out that the very fact that an unarmed man was shot by an armed soldier was not adequate to establish criminal liability. It is essential to show that the suspect violated the principles of safe usage of the weapon, and its conduct led to injury to the victim. In the meantime, there are crucial doubts that have not been resolved during the trial.
The weapon could have fired itself.
One of the most crucial issues dealt with by the court was the method condition of the PM-98 Glauberyt device weapon from which the shot was fired. The ballistics expert Zenon Zakrzewski pointed out that the weapon plan could have enabled uncontrolled firing during the fall to the ground. It could not be ruled out that it would happen even with a decently secured weapon. It was besides possible to give a series of shots despite setting the control to single fire.
This does not mean that the court clearly determined the origin of the shooting. However, he felt that the malfunction of the weapon mechanics could not be ruled out and the evidence gathered did not show that the soldier had committed the alleged negligence.
During the process there were besides doubts about the servicing of the weapon and the quality of ammunition. The court pointed out that although a soldier has a work to deal decently with the arms entrusted, he is not liable for all his method characteristics. Control and maintenance of certain mechanisms, including components of the trigger system, belong to the gunsmith's duties and are not activities performed during patrol.
Nor has the lieutenant been shown to violate the principles of BLOS, or 4 basic rules for the safe usage of weapons. They order that each weapon be treated as loaded, that the barrel be directed in a safe direction, that the mark and its surroundings be controlled, and that the finger be kept outside the trigger language until the shot is fired. The court took into account the circumstances of the intervention: the pursuit took place in a hard forest area and the situation changed dynamically.
In the end, the court concluded that the prosecution did not supply adequate evidence that the shooting of a migrant was a consequence of the officer's faulty negligence. Doubts did not let a criminal offence to be attributed to him, so an acquittal was given.
The resolution was addressed in social media by Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. "Lieutenant of the Polish Army was acquitted present by the Military Garrison Court in Warsaw. No negligence was proven to him during his service on the border with Belarus. From the beginning we provided legal assistance and support to the Military Soldier’s Rights Protection Team. A soldier who does his work cannot be alone, even in a hard situation. As I mentioned before during the gathering with the lieutenant – no soldier of the Polish Army will stay without help" – the head of the MON wrote on page X.
The ruling is not final. A spokesperson for the injured Syrian, patron Peter Zemła, announced that he should ask for a written message of reasons. However, he did not find whether an appeal would be made.
Pursuit in the Białowieża Forest
The event occurred in early November 2023 in the area of Topiło, in Białowieża Forest, about 2 km from the Polish-Belarusian border. Soldiers of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade, supporting the Border Guard, participated in actions related to the detention of a group of migrants who illegally crossed the border. Among the military was Lieutenant Adam Ł.
During the intervention, soldiers called on migrants to stop. 1 of the foreigners, a 23-year-old Syrian citizen, began to flee. Lieutenant L. has gone after him. During the pursuit he slipped and fell, and the device weapon held by him PM-98 fired uncontrollablely. 1 of the bullets hit a man moving in the back, close his spine.
The soldier immediately began to assist the injured. The injured man was transported to a infirmary where he underwent treatment for gunshot injuries. After a fewer weeks, he left the facility. In May 2024 he gained global protection in Poland.
On November 7, 2023, an investigation was initiated in the military branch of the territory Attorney's Office in Warsaw concerning careless handling of authoritative weapons. Investigators investigated both the intervention and the method characteristics of the gun. In the course of the procedure, expert opinions on weapons and preparation of soldiers for tasks at the border were obtained.
In May 2025, the D.A. presented to Lieutenant Adam Ł. the charge under Art. 354 par. 1 of the Criminal Code. The provision concerns the careless handling of military weapons or their careless use, resulting in unintentional injury to another person. A conviction of up to 3 years imprisonment is punishable for specified an act.
According to investigators, a soldier fired 2 uncontrolled shots, 1 of which caused injury to the victim's spine, resulting in a violation of body function for more than 7 days. The D.A. didn't accuse the officer of deliberately shooting a migrant. However, she felt that he had not kept the required caution while utilizing his weapon.
Liability dispute
On August 6, 2025, the prosecutor sent a request to the Military Garrison Court in Warsaw for conditional remission of proceedings, assessing that the degree of guilt and social harm of the act was not significant.
Such a decision would not mean convicting a soldier or punishing him. However, it would besides not be tantamount to declaring him innocent. Conditional remission requires uncovering that the suspect has committed the alleged act, although the circumstances let for withdrawal from the conviction.
Lt. Lt. didn't agree to this conclusion. He did not plead guilty, and his defence counsel argued that the evidence gathered did not give emergence to a criminal record. The case was brought to trial in which witnesses, including a Syrian victim, were interrogated, and expert opinions were examined. The main object of the dispute was whether an uncontrolled firing occurred due to the negligence of an officer, or whether the properties of the weapon and the circumstances of the intervention did not let him to be held liable.
On 15 October 2026, closing speeches were held before the Military Garrison Court in Warsaw. The Public Prosecutor's Office upheld the request for conditional dismissal of the proceedings and asked for a judgement in favour of the injured organization of PLN 2 thousand. The Syrian typical demanded PLN 50,000, while the defence consistently claimed acquittal.
