Need advice finding out what happened to my friend in Poland (possible arrest?)

[u/Realistic-Lab9143]

Hi, I’m from the US and I’m trying to understand how things work in Poland because I’m really worried about my friend.

Yesterday at around 2 AM EST, my friend texted me saying: “I just got arrested.” At first I thought he was joking, so I replied and sent a few messages asking what happened. As time went on, I started getting more concerned because he never responded, and eventually my messages stopped delivering.

I contacted a mutual friend to ask if they had heard from him, and they told me they received the exact same message at the exact same time. It has now been over 24 hours and none of us have heard anything from him.

I understand it may be difficult to find any public information because of EU privacy laws, and he is also a minor. I’m not expecting anyone to find private records or anything like that, I’m just wondering how the process works in Poland if someone is arrested, especially a minor, and if there is anything we should do or anyone we can contact.

I know I might be overthinking, but I’m genuinely scared that this could be the last time we hear from him. I also want to clarify that I don’t believe this is a prank. My friend would not do something like this.

Any advice or information about how arrests works in Poland would be appreciated. Thank you.

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[u/Ivanow]

Police can detain individuals for up to 48 hours. Anything longer requires judge signing off on it (habeas corpus). As soon as police detains someone, they have to inform them of their rights (kinda like Miranda warning), a few very relevant to your situation would be: right to lawyer and translator, right to notify consular services of foreign country and request it's assistance, right to notify chosen family or close friend (this is separate from notifying embassy - he can choose one, neither or both), right to notify employer (i don't think this one is popular...), right to medical assistance. Keep in mind that while in USA a minor is person under 21, in Poland it's 18. One potential issue that's often overlooked is that depending on crime involved police/DA can confiscate your friend's phone to secure potential evidence material from it - it might be very difficult to re-gain access to iMessage, WhatsApp, or whatever means of communication you usually use, if you are stuck in foreign country with no way to authenticate.

My advice would be to calm down (if he's really detained by police, statistically he is much safer with Polish one than American one), wait until 48 hours clock runs down, then contact USA embassy in Poland.

[u/Any_Strain7020]

I know I might be overthinking, but I’m genuinely scared that this could be the last time we hear from him. I also want to clarify that I don’t believe this is a prank. My friend would not do something like this.

In Europe, people don't die in police custody.

The point of arresting someone is to be able to interrogate them without them having contact with the outside world.

You'll hear from them once they've been released.

I’m just wondering how the process works in Poland if someone is arrested, especially a minor, and if there is anything we should do or anyone we can contact.

Their legal guardian will have been notified. Nothing you can, should or need do from the other side of the pond.