POLISH women’s strike leader Marta Lempar has been charged with criminal offences over her role in the mass protests against a near total ban on abortion.

She was formally indicted with the charges at the district prosecutor’s office in the Polish capital Warsaw on Wednesday.

The charges include insulting public officials and causing an “epidemiological threat” for organising protests during the coronavirus pandemic. 

She faces up to eight years behind bars and warned that the charges against her were part of “an intensification of political pressure on her movement.”

Protests erupted in October last year following the Polish government’s announcement that abortions would be banned in cases of foetal abnormalities, placing tighter limits on already restrictive legislation.

A three-month pause was put in place on its implementation with the government fearing the size of the protests which had led calls from some parliamentarians for a compromise.

But just over a week ago a constitutional tribunal ruled that the original decision, that abortion was incompatible with Poland’s constitution, was lawful.

Poland’s human rights ombudsman slammed the decision.

“The state wants to further limit [women’s] rights, risk their lives, and condemn them to torture,” spokesman Adam Bodnar said.