Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday (January 10) that he was deeply shaken by the arrests of former members of government Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik and vowed he would not rest until they were freed. "This case has been very controversial from the very beginning, and for most of the public there is no doubt that it is, in fact, a political case," the president added.
"I must tell you that as the president of the Republic of Poland, and at the same time as a man who believes in a just and honest Poland, and who is aware that everything needs to be done to keep our homeland that way, I am deeply shaken by this situation, by the fact that they (Kamiński and Wąsik - edit.) were put in prison despite a presidential pardon and that it was done with such zeal and such brutality," Duda said in a statement published at his office webiste.
"I want to assure you of one thing, I will not rest in the fight for an honest and just Polish state. Honest and just for simple citizens as I promised to my voters in the election campaign in 2015 and in 2020. For me, it also means that I will not rest until Minister Mariusz Kamiński and his associates are free citizens again, just like they should have been, until they are released from prison," the president vowed.
Duda: this is a political case
"In the last months, weeks and days I have stood by the position that the ministers and their associates were pardoned in 2015 by the President of the Republic of Poland, completely in line with the constitution, and that this pardon is in force, is effective - and at the same time that the ministers, today also members of parliament chosen in the recent parliamentary election, keep their mandates and any attempts to lift their mandates are illegal," Duda argued.
"This case has been very controversial from the very beginning, and for most of the public there is no doubt that it is, in fact, a political case. For me, it was and still is a very important case because fighting corruption is one of the fundamental elements in building a modern country. A modern country is one that fights corruption and fights corruption effectively."
"I call for calm. In Poland, one has a right to gather (to protest - edit.). If someone wants to exercise their right to gather, they can gather. If someone wants to participate in a manifestation, one can participate in a manifestation, but please keep these manifestations peaceful, keep them dignified and calm," the president urged.
Detained at the presidential palace
Police entered Poland's presidential palace to detain Kamiński, former Polish interior minister, and Wąsik, one of his former deputies, on Tuesday (January 9).
Kamiński, who denied wrongdoing and in 2015 was pardoned by Duda, said on Wednesday he had started a hunger strike as a "political prisoner".
The events mark a dramatic gear change in new Prime Minister Donald Tusk's efforts to undo the 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 their eight-year rule. Tusk's pro-European coalition's drive to bring Poland back in line with EU democratic rules and unblock tens of billions of euros in funding pits him against PiS ally President Andrzej Duda.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters