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Political tensions high in Poland on eve of rights report

Anti-government protesters discuss during a protest against the government’s refusal to accept a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, March 10, 2016. Poland is gripped by a constitutional crisis sparked by the government’s attempts to neutralize the court, which is no longer able to function as a check on the power of the ruling Law and Justice party. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Anti-government protesters discuss during a protest against the government’s refusal to accept a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, March 10, 2016. Poland is gripped by a constitutional crisis sparked by the government’s attempts to neutralize the court, which is no longer able to function as a check on the power of the ruling Law and Justice party. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) Anti-government protesters discuss during a protest against the government’s refusal to accept a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, March 10, 2016. Poland is gripped by a constitutional crisis sparked by the government’s attempts to neutralize the court, which is no longer able to function as a check on the power of the ruling Law and Justice party. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

By Associated Press 3 min read

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Poland will challenge the findings of an international human rights commission which is expected to deliver a scathing assessment of democratic backsliding in the European Union’s largest ex-communist member state, the foreign minister said Thursday.

Witold Waszczykowski said the government plans to dispute the findings of the Venice Commission, an arm of the Council of Europe human rights group. The commission is scheduled to deliver its report on Friday in Venice.

A leaked draft of the report was strongly critical of Poland’s government.

“I won’t hide the fact that we plan to dispute this opinion,” Waszczykowski said. He said members of a Polish delegation who will travel to Venice to meet with the commission members “will disprove the charges.”

Poland has been in a state of political crisis since the conservative Law and Justice came to power in November on a mission to build a strong state that promotes patriotic and traditional Catholic values.