Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Thursday (Jan. 11) he will seek to pardon two imprisoned former ministers - Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik - and has applied to the prosecutor general for them to be released. "I plead the Gentlemen be released from prison immediately. I trust this will also ease the tensions that exist within our state," he added.
At a press conference held alongside the wives of the two imprisoned politicians - Barbara Kamińska and Romualda Wąsik - President Duda said Poland's a large part of Poland's public opinion was outraged by the arrest. In his view, the two former ministers "are the first political prisoners since 1989".
The president added that the wives "came to ask me to lead to their husbands' immediate release, especially that both of them have refused to eat meals".
"I must do all I can to prevent escalation of events, therefore I have decided to launch a pardoning procedure. I hope the Prosecutor General examines my request quickly and makes a decision in the interest of the Republic of Poland," Duda said.
"I plead the Gentlemen be released from prison immediately. I trust this will also ease the tensions that exist within our state," he added.
"Therefore, the pardon motion is now sent to the prosecutor general. According to Art. 568 of the Criminal Code, It is possible for the prosecutor general to suspend the execution of the sentence and for the prosecutor general to release the inmates for the duration of the proceedings. I am applying to the prosecutor general for this, expressis verbis," the president stressed.
Hunger strike
Poland's former Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński said he had started a hunger strike as a "political prisoner" on Wednesday (Jan. 10) , and was joined in the protest by his ex-deputy Maciej Wąsik a day after both men, convicted of abuse of power, were sent to jail.
Their high-profile arrests, which took place inside the presidential palace in Warsaw on Tuesday (Jan. 9) while the president was at a different location in the city, have triggered raw emotion in Poland with protests carrying over to Wednesday.
The events mark a gear change in new Prime Minister Donald Tusk's efforts to undo policies of his predecessors, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, and punish those accused of wrongdoing during their time in power.
PiS faced accusations of subverting the rule of law during its eight years in office. Tusk's pro-European coalition's drive to bring Poland back in line with European Union democratic standards and unblock tens of billions of euros in EU funding pits him against PiS ally President Andrzej Duda.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters, PAP