A Polish Senator from the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party sparked national outrage on December 11, 2025, after he was filmed reaching toward a female journalist’s chest in an attempt to remove or switch off her lapel microphone during a heated exchange in the corridors of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament. The incident occurred as TVP Info Reporter Justyna Dobrosz-Oracz pressed Senator Wojciech Skurkiewicz on Poland’s role in potential Ukraine peace negotiations. In the widely circulated clip, Skurkiewicz is seen lunging forward, saying, “I’m going to turn off your microphone,” prompting Dobrosz-Oracz to respond firmly, “Please do not touch me. This is a played note.” The senator retorted, “Exactly, I’m asking you to turn it off,” before the journalist walked away, reiterating that he was violating her personal integrity.
The brief but aggressive physical gesture has ignited a fierce debate over press freedom, politicians’ conduct, and gender-based intimidation in Polish public life. Social media erupted with condemnation, with users labelling the act “boorish”, “arrogant”, and “intimidating”. One prominent comment read, “You have to be totally shameless to violate a woman’s inviolability and address the journalist Dobrosz-Oracz with such arrogance, haughtiness, aggression, and pride.” Opposition figures, including European Parliament member Krzysztof Brejza, announced he would file a complaint with the Sejm’s Ethics Committee, declaring, “There is no consent to such rudeness.”
The episode unfolded against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Poland’s media and the former ruling PiS party, which has long been accused of attempting to control public broadcasters and curb critical reporting. TVP Info, the state-owned channel Dobrosz-Oracz works for, was transformed into a pro-PiS mouthpiece during the party’s 2015–2023 tenure, a legacy the current centrist government is still dismantling. Skurkiewicz’s actions were widely interpreted as a reflex of that era’s hostility toward journalists perceived as hostile.
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While some PiS supporters claimed the senator’s gesture was misinterpreted or merely an attempt to end the interview, the overwhelming public and political reaction has been one of revulsion. Journalists’ unions and women’s rights groups have called the incident a stark example of how female reporters still face physical intimidation when holding powerful men to account. The Polish Journalists’ Association issued a statement condemning any attempt to silence reporters through physical means.
As of the evening of December 11, Senator Skurkiewicz had not issued a formal apology, though sources close to him claimed he felt the microphone was being used provocatively. The Sejm Speaker’s office confirmed the Ethics Committee would examine the matter, with potential sanctions ranging from a reprimand to suspension of parliamentary privileges.
The controversy has reignited broader concerns about deteriorating standards of civility in Polish politics and the lingering authoritarian tendencies of the previous administration, reminding the public that freedom of the press remains a hard-won and still-fragile achievement in post-2015 Poland.
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