Poland drafts bill banning aid to illegal migrants

A citizen of Poland for knowingly facilitating the further illegal stay of a migrant in the country can be sentenced to three years in prison. It's from sb.by.

According to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita, such an addition to the criminal code of Poland is preparing to introduce the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic. Article 264a of the country's penal code provides for such punishment only for persons who derive material benefits from assistance to illegal migrants. The Ministry intends to add a new paragraph to this article, which provides for criminal liability for those Poles who help migrants for purely humanitarian reasons.

“Anyone who, knowing that the person is on the territory of Poland illegally, assists him or facilitates further stay [on the territory of Poland], is punished with imprisonment for up to 3 years,” the preliminary contents of the new paragraph of the publication.

It is not yet known when this paragraph may become an official part of the criminal code.

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