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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
A former colleague of Polish President Karol Nawrocki from when he worked as a security guard in a hotel two decades ago testified in court that he told her it was possible to “make some extra money by bringing in girls”. She says she saw him escort a woman onto the premises.
The testimony was given after the president himself sued the owner of a website that, just before last year’s presidential election, published claims that Nawrocki had been involved in procuring prostitutes while working at the luxury Grand Hotel in the town of Sopot.
The court case began in September but, until now, hearings have been held behind closed doors. However, the judge decided that today’s session would be open to the public, with two former colleagues of Nawrocki giving evidence. The president himself is due to appear before the court in January.
🗣️ “Moją automatyczną oceną było, że to prostytutka i alfons.”
Nowe zeznania w procesie Karola Nawrockiego z wydawcą Onetu. Przed sądem stanęła była współpracowniczka prezydenta z sopockiego Grand Hotelu. pic.twitter.com/Cn6KyMSjcv
— tvp.info 🇵🇱 (@tvp_info) October 27, 2026
In May last year, less than a week before the second round of the election, in which Nawrocki was standing in a run-off against rival Rafał Trzaskowski, Onet, a leading news website, published an article titled “Karol Nawrocki and the secrets of the Grand Hotel”.
It claimed, based on information provided by unnamed former colleagues of the future president, that he had “participated in bringing prostitutes for guests of the Grand Hotel in Sopot while working there as a security guard” almost 20 years earlier.
Onet said that its interlocutors wished to remain anonymous for their own safety, but had expressed their willingness to testify in court if required.
The revelations caused a major scandal, but were vigorously denied by Nawrocki, a conservative candidate aligned with the right-wing opposition, who called them a “pack of lies”. He then went on to narrowly defeat Trzaskowski in the election.
Conservative presidential candidate @NawrockiKn says he will sue news website @onetpl for claims it published today that he procured prostitutes for clients at a luxury hotel when working there as a security guard.
He called the report “a bunch of lies” https://t.co/WZ4rZWfFT1
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 26, 2025
Nawrocki then sued Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP), the Polish subsidiary of a German-Swiss media house that owns Onet, demanding an apology. RASP stood by Onet, saying that its reporting was “factual”.
At today’s hearing, one of Onet’s sources, Natasza Geldon, who had worked at the hotel in 2006 and 2007, was questioned. She said that, one evening, she had noticed Nawrocki leading a man and a woman into the hotel, before then taking only the woman into an elevator and returning alone.
This had struck her as unusual, because staff were not supposed to escort guests into the hotel, “let alone take them upstairs” in the lift, said Geldon, quoted by broadcaster TVP.
“When Karol came back downstairs, I asked him what was going on,” continued the witness. “He said it was possible to make some extra money by bringing girls in, and asked if I wanted to join in.”
Geldon refused the offer, telling the court that, “as a young girl, 19 years old, I had the impression that a pimp had been coming in with a prostitute”. However, when asked to confirm if she had seen prostitutes in the hotel, Geldon said: “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. It was just that one incident.”
A second witness, Łukasz Franczak, described as a longtime friend of Nawrocki who worked alongside him in security at the Grand Hotel, also gave evidence on Tuesday after being called by Nawrocki’s legal team.
He testified that there had been prostitutes in the hotel. However, he added that he had not heard of any organised operation to supply them to guests; nor had he witnessed Nawrocki procuring prostitutes or discussing payment for them, reported Onet from the hearing.
Franczak’s testimony was welcomed by Nawrocki’s former national security advisor, Sławomir Cenckiewicz, who said that it showed those making claims against the president have no evidence of his involvement in any wrongdoing.
Oni się wszyscy teraz nakręcają jak szaleni, nie czytając tego co sami piszą na własnej stronie… No i dowiedzieli się dzisiaj, że w hotelach bywają prostytutki 🙂
A ja to wszystko czytam na bieżąco, a tam słynny Łukasz z Gdańska, ulubiony świadek-historyk Antka Dudka, i… https://t.co/9sKGZT4PpD
— Sławomir Cenckiewicz (@Cenckiewicz) October 27, 2026
RASP’s lawyers have called for Nawrocki himself to testify in the case. The president’s legal team wanted him to provide his testimony in writing, according to Onet.
But on Tuesday, judge Aleksandra Orzechowska ordered Nawrocki to give testimony directly – either in person or remotely – at the next hearing, which is scheduled for 18 January 2027, reports broadcaster TVN.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Marek Borawski/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
