Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki must testify on January 18, 2027, in his civil lawsuit against news portal Onet, a Warsaw court ruled on October 27.

A former hotel colleague of Nawrocki’s testified on the same day that the future president suggested earning money by bringing women to guests when he was working as a security guard at the Grand Hotel in Sopot, a prestigious seaside destination.

Onet published the allegations on May 26, 2025, six days before the presidential run-off that Nawrocki won, beating the liberal rival Rafał Trzaskowski.

The renewed scrutiny could now embarrass the president and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, which backed him, ahead of Poland’s 2027 parliamentary election, although the original disclosures failed to derail his presidential bid.

Natasza Geldon, who worked alongside Nawrocki in security at the Grand Hotel in Sopot in 2006-2007, told the court she saw him accompany a man and a woman into a lift serving guest rooms, an unusual behaviour for a security guard, she said. Geldon also said what she saw looked like as if “a pimp was walking in with a prostitute.”

When she questioned Nawrocki afterwards, he allegedly said she “could earn extra money by bringing women to guests,” Geldon testified. She also said she rejected the suggestion and the matter never surfaced again.

The witness acknowledged she did not know whether the woman she saw was a sex worker

Another former security employee, Łukasz Franczak, called by Nawrocki’s lawyers, said he was unaware of any organised prostitution procurement operation at the hotel and had never witnessed Nawrocki arranging prostitutes for guests. Franczak acknowledged that women believed to be sex workers visited the hotel.

Onet’s investigation alleged that Nawrocki had helped procure prostitutes for guests while working as a security guard at the Grand Hotel. Nawrocki rejected the allegations as lies and launched proceedings against publisher Ringier Axel Springer Polska, seeking an apology.

The court opened proceedings to the public on October 27, reversing the secrecy of earlier hearings. It also rejected a request by Nawrocki’s lawyers for written testimony, although it will allow him to appear remotely.

The January hearing is also expected to hear final submissions before a judgment.