The two convicted Polish MPs were arrested in the presidential palace on Tuesday evening. Reuters reports.
We recall that the case escalated the conflict between the nationalist head of state and the new pro-European government.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused President Andrzej Duda of obstructing justiceafter the two were seen at the presidential palace.
Tusk said that both Duda and the leader of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party Jaroslaw Kaczynski can be held responsible for obstruction of justice.
Donald Tusk accused the president of keeping MPs from going to jail
A difficult coexistence between the president and the government is emerging
“The situation is incredible. Convicts should be taken to solitary confinement, but they choose another, more comfortable place for solitary confinement – the presidential palace,” Tusk said.
In 2015, weeks after PiS came to power, Duda pardoned Mariusz Kaminskiafter he was convicted of abuse of power in a previous position, which allowed him to become interior minister.
Lawyers doubt whether Duda can pardon him before an appeals court issues a final ruling. Last year, the Supreme Court said the case should be reopened and in December, Kaminski and his deputy, Maciej Vasik, were sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of power.
On Tuesday, the president’s office released a photo of Kaminski and Vasik with Duda at an official event at the palace.
“A dark dictatorship is forming. We cannot allow Poland to keep political prisoners,” Kaminski said after the event before reentering the building. We are dealing with a deep crisis of our country, a riot in the courts, we are not hiding, we are with the president.”
According to Shimon Kholovnia, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, or Sejm, the December verdict means that Kaminski and Vasik have lost their parliamentary mandates. However, the two denied this and plan to attend the next meeting.
Duda met with Kholovnia on Monday to try to convince him that his pardon was valid and the court had no right to issue a second sentence, but they did not reach an agreement.
“The meeting planned for this week will be moved to next week… there is one reason for this decision – my task is to ensure the dignity of the Sejm and social peace,” said speaker Holovnia.
Parliament was due to vote on the 2024 budget at this week’s meeting. He has until the end of January to send it to the president for his signature. If he fails to do so, the president can dissolve parliament.
2024-01-09 20:15:18
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