These two PiS-affiliated politicians were former directors and deputy directors of the Central Anti-Corruption Office at the time of the events. They were sentenced to two years in prison before the annual holiday.
Poland: Former interior minister arrested at presidential palace
A real surprise
These two PiS representatives knew they were on the hot seat during the elections that the pro-European coalition won in the fall. They were convinced that the presidential pardon they both benefited from in 2015 would protect them from possible arrest. And according to sources obtained by the Polish media, they were surprised by the police intervention, but let it happen.
President Andrzej Duda says the amnesty he applied for 8 years ago is still valid. “Ministers were pardoned […] In 2015, according to the constitution, this amnesty is valid and effective, so these ministers – representatives today […] – want their order. Any attempt to take this away from them is illegal. He said during a speech on January 10. The head of state said “Sadness”, He made it clear that he could not rest until then “Minister Mariusz Kaminsky and his colleagues never became free men again.”
An effective apology in the second instance
Both parties held a press conference in front of the presidential palace on the afternoon of January 9, during which Mariusz Kaminsky announced. “Be prepared to put yourself in jail in the coming days”Condemnation “Anarchy” Donald Tusk's coalition government will form the government. Marius Kaminsky also started a hunger strike following his arrest.
The problem is that in the second case, most jurists believe that the president can only grant a pardon if there is a final conviction. Judge Piotr Kasierek of the Warsaw District Court, requested by Libre Belgique, confirmed this: “The right to amnesty can only be exercised if there is a final judgment. The amnesty decreed by Andrej Duda in 2015 is not only ineffective but also unconstitutional. The judge admitted that he was shocked to see the President “to dishonor his office”poses “A photo with the criminals [le 9 janvier] He also accused the judges of being politically motivated.
In Poland, restoring the rule of law promises to be difficult
Legal chaos resulting from a deranged rule of law
The case is at the heart of the legal chaos that PiS has established by unraveling the rule of law in Poland for eight years. National conservatives have politicized many important courts, including the Constitutional Court and part of the Supreme Court. These constant attacks on justice and its independence have been highlighted on several occasions by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. It is from this confusion that the opposition party is currently profiting. For example, the politicized chamber of the Supreme Court deemed that representatives Kaminski and Wasik still had their mandate, despite the final sentence, while the independent second chamber reached a contradictory conclusion on January 10.
“All this is the result of destroying the courts under the BIS government. Illegal judges of the Supreme Court, illegally appointed by Andrzej Duda, act in solidarity, and they will now defend the right to an illegal presidential pardon. Because they are grateful to him. Judge Gaciarek, who was suspended by a disciplinary chamber from his duties between 2021 and 2023, was ousted by the PiS government in order to receive post-Covid recovery funds promised by the European Union.
“It is scandalous that we have political prisoners for the first time since 1989.”PiS leader Jarosław Kaczynski declared on January 9 when he demonstrated to a small crowd in front of the police station where the two politicians were being held. “We cannot talk about political prisoners in any case, not Messrs. Kaminsky and Vasik Alexander Navalny. On the other hand, the new posture invented by PiS is that it sets up the cult of martyrs”. Political scientist Renata Mienkowska-Norkien, a professor at the University of Warsaw, argues.
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