Mass protests took place in Warsaw

Mass protests took place in the capital of Poland on Saturday, the participants of which accuse the ruling Law and Justice party of trying to violate the Constitution, including restricting media freedom.

According to BBC News correspondents, about two thousand people took part in the demonstration near the presidential palace.

The protesters went from the presidential palace to the parliament building. The Seimas, after being blocked by the opposition at night, was cordoned off by the police on Saturday.

No incidents were reported during the demonstrations.

• Deputies of the opposition factions on Friday, December 16, tried to block the work of the parliament by taking the podium. A number of bills, including the budget for 2017, were to be considered in the Seimas on that day.
• The ruling Law and Justice Party moved the meeting to another hall, where it held a vote. Since there was no electronic voting system in this hall, the opposition declared the adopted bills illegitimate.
• As a sign of protest against the actions of "Law and Justice", opposition supporters blocked the exits from the parliament on the evening of December 16 . The deputies, as well as the leader of "Law and Justice" Yaroslav Kaczynski, were able to leave the Sejm only after the police pushed the demonstrators away from the entrances. Police reportedly fired tear gas, but there were no reports of casualties.
• Reuters experts assessed what happened as the biggest political crisis in Poland over the past few years.