Police in Poland detain former Interior Minister and his deputy

In Poland, police have raided the Presidential Palace.

DETENTIONS AT THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

Warsaw police entered the Presidential Palace and detained former Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and his deputy Maciej Wasik, who were sentenced to 2 years in prison each on charges of "abuse of power" and "incitement to corruption." It was reported that Kaminski and Wasik were detained while President Andrzej Duda was meeting with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in the evening hours.

Polish Deputy Interior Minister Czeslaw Mroczek confirmed in a statement on his social media account that Kaminski and his deputy Wasik had been detained at the Presidential Palace.

PRESIDENT DUDA HAD EXERCISED HIS PARDON POWER FOR KAMINSKI AND WASIK

A lawsuit was filed in the Warsaw District Court against Kaminski, who served as the head of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) between 2007 and 2010, and his deputy Wasik, on charges of "abuse of power" and "incitement to corruption" for political purposes. As a result of the trial, which concluded in 2015, the court found Kaminski and Wasik guilty and sentenced them to 3 years in prison each.

At that time, the Law and Justice Party (PiS), of which Kaminski and Wasik were members, had come to power. Duda, who was elected President that same year as the PiS candidate, exercised his pardon power and announced in March 2016 that he had pardoned the prison sentences of Kaminski and Wasik. Kaminski and Wasik continued their duties as members of the Polish parliament, and between 2019 and 2023, Mariusz Kaminski served as the Minister of Interior and Administration, while Maciej Wasik served as Deputy Minister.

SUPREME COURT RULED DUDA'S PARDON INVALID

The Warsaw Prosecutor's Office had applied to the Supreme Court on the grounds that Kaminski and Wasik could not be pardoned by the President before their prison sentences were finalized by a higher court. The Polish Supreme Court ruled in June of last year that the President's pardon power could not be valid in this case and sent the file to the Warsaw Regional Court.

In its final session held on December 20, 2023, the Warsaw Regional Court sentenced Kaminski and Wasik to 2 years in prison each for "abuse of power" and "incitement to corruption." Since the decision of the Warsaw Regional Court was final, the parliamentary seats of Kaminski and Wasik, who were re-elected in the October 15, 2023 general elections, were revoked by Szymon Holownia, Speaker of the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, in accordance with the Polish Election Law.

MAIN OPPOSITION DESCRIBED IT AS POLITICAL REVENGE

While members of the PiS, the main opposition party, claimed that all these events were an act of political revenge by the ruling Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska) party, President Duda insisted that he had exercised the pardon power granted to him by the constitution and that he had pardoned the individuals in question in 2016.

News Source: AA