Warsaw Garrison Military Court acquits a Polish soldier over a 2023 shooting at the Belarus border

21 October 2026

The Warsaw Garrison Military Court acquitted a second lieutenant of the Polish army. The charge was careless handling of a firearm and unintentionally causing bodily injury. The soldier was supporting the Border Guard and the police at the border with Belarus in November 2023 when his weapon discharged and wounded a Syrian migrant. The court found no negligence in his border service. Judge Michal Zak said the circumstances were unclear and that court-commissioned expert evidence pointed to a possible defect in the weapon. Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the verdict, and his ministry had supported the soldier's legal defence. The verdict can still be appealed.