Prosecutor general sends his opinion regarding pardon procedure for sentenced former ministers

The Ministry of Justice informed on Tuesday it had sent the case files regarding Kamiński and Wąsik's pardon procedure back to President Andrzej Duda, who had launched the procedure last week.

The ministry said in a statement the prosecutor general (Adam Bodnar) recommended the president not to exercise the right of pardon in this case.

It was underscored that "the prosecutor general's opinion is not binding for the president".

Andrzej Duda's chief of staff Marcin Mastalerek told TVN24 earlier on Tuesday that the president would decide on whether to pardon Kamiński and Wąsik "the day he receives the case files and the opinion of the prosecutor general".

President Andrzej Duda scheduled a press conference for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The president had already pardoned the two politicians back in 2015, allowing them to become ministers in the PiS government. He had done so, however, before the final court sentence was passed.

On Dec. 20, 2023, the Regional Court in Warsaw sentenced Kamiński and Wąsik to two years in prison for abuse of power years back in the so-called "land scandal". The two politicians were detained by the police on Jan. 9 and placed in separate prisons shortly after.

On Jan. 11, President Duda launched a pardoning procedure of Kamiński and Wąsik, acting at the request of the jailed politicians' wives. He also asked minister Bodnar, who is also Poland's prosecutor general, to suspend their imprisonment for the duration of the pardoning procedure.

Adam Bodnar confirmed he had received the president's request in that regard and launched the proceedings. The justice minister told TVN24 on Monday (Jan. 15) he would look into the Kamiński and Wąsik's case files and that he would send them back to the president "in a few days," along with his opinion on the matter. He added that from then on "everything is in the president's hands".