Jan 10, 2024 at 2:57 PM
Former Polish minister Mariusz Kaminski has gone on hunger strike after he was arrested at the presidential palace on Tuesday together with former State Secretary Maciej Wasik. They were sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of office.
“I treat my conviction as an act of political revenge,” the former interior minister said in a statement. “As a political prisoner, I started a hunger strike on the first day of my imprisonment.”
Police wanted to arrest Kaminski and Wasik at their home, but headed for the palace instead. The politicians were invited there by President Andrzej Duda.
Duda, Kaminski and Wasik are all members of the right-wing populist party PiS. This party was in the government until recently, but the government led by Donald Tusk has now taken over.
Tusk has led a pro-European government since December. But at the same time, Duda will remain as president until the 2025 elections. Until then, the two are condemned to each other.
Tusk accuses Duda of sabotage
Polish Prime Minister Tusk accused President Duda of sabotage on Tuesday. According to the Prime Minister, Duda tried to prevent the arrest with his invitation.
“Mr. President, my sincere appeal for the well-being of the Polish state: you must put an end to this spectacle. It puts us in a very dangerous situation,” Tusk said.
Kaminski said in a response that they were not in hiding in the palace. “We are not hiding. Right now we are with the Polish president until evil loses.”
Duda said on Wednesday that he was “severely shocked” by the arrests. He had previously pardoned Kaminski and Wasik, but that decision was declared illegal by the Supreme Court last year.
PiS won the elections in October, but lost its majority. Tusk was able to form a majority with three parties that had united to defeat PiS. Since then there have been tensions.
Image: The presidential palace on January 9, Getty Images
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Poland Abroad
2024-01-10 13:57:51
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