Polish President Addresses Arrest of Deputies Kaminski and Wąsik
Polish President Andrzej Duda has issued a special statement regarding the arrest of deputies Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wąsik. He emphasized that those fighting against corruption should be under special care and attention from the state. Former Minister of Internal Affairs Mariusz Kaminski, along with his deputy Maciej Wąsik, were convicted for actions related to combating corruption at higher levels of government, stated President Andrzej Duda.
On Tuesday, January 9, the police stormed the Presidential Palace in Warsaw and arrested former Polish Minister of Internal Affairs Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy Maciej Wąsik, who were awaiting a meeting with the Polish president. This information was reported by the Polish radio station RMF24.
Mariusz Kaminski announced a hunger strike from the first day of imprisonment in a statement on behalf of the Minister of Justice. He stated that he considers his conviction and the actions to strip him of his parliamentary mandate as acts of political revenge. "Therefore, as a political prisoner, I begin a hunger strike from the first day of imprisonment," he noted.
It is reported that Kaminski and Wąsik arrived at the Presidential Palace at the invitation of Polish President Andrzej Duda, who was not present at that time. The President's office stated that the police did not provide any documents during the incident. It is also reported that, without explanation, the police blocked access to the Presidential Palace for other deputies.
"After the President returned, he was supposed to have another conversation with parliamentarians. At that moment, the police stormed the Presidential Palace. No documents were presented. During the conversation in front of the President's office, police officers detained the presidential guests. The dignity of the Polish state and the dignity of those pardoned by the President of the Republic of Poland were violated," the statement from the President's office said.
The police themselves state that the arrest was carried out in accordance with the court's decision on January 9, and the detainees have been taken to a detention center. Journalists report that both were surprised by the arrest, but did not resist.
After the arrest of the former officials, around 300 people gathered in protest near the Presidential Palace and the district police headquarters in Warsaw. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, co-founder and leader of the "Law and Justice" party, was among the participants.
In 2015, Kaminski and Wąsik were found guilty of corruption and land deal manipulations dating back to 2007. In 2015, President Duda pardoned them. However, due to legal intricacies (the pardon was granted before the verdict took effect, meaning the President pardoned essentially innocent individuals), the case was reopened. At the end of 2023, the former officials were convicted again on the same charges and sentenced to two years in prison, losing their parliamentary status.
The verdict of two years of imprisonment is less than the 3.5 years initially sentenced by the first-instance court. It is final and must be executed. In addition to Kaminski and Wąsik, the Warsaw Court of Appeals also sentenced two former Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) officers to one year in prison for their operational activities during the "land scandal."
Members of the Sejm from the former ruling "Law and Justice" party consider the verdict against Kaminski and Wąsik unlawful and politically motivated, demanding its annulment. It is worth noting that at the end of last year, the Polish Ministry of Culture decided to liquidate state media companies, such as Telewizja Polska S.A. and Polskie Radio S.A., along with the Polish Press Agency S.A. The ministry explained this decision by President Andrzej Duda's move to suspend funding for public media, vetoing the corresponding law.