The Warsaw district prosecutor's office initiated two investigations into the case of former Ombudsman Mikołaj Pawlak. This concerns a possible abuse of powers while he held this position. According to investigators, Pawlak allegedly took “actions that went beyond his statutory tasks.” One of the investigations also concerns the former general director of his office.
The spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, Prosecutor Piotr Skiba, said in Tuesday's announcement that it had initiated two investigations into the abuse of powers by the former Ombudsman for Children. One of them also concerns the abuse of powers by the director general of the former RDP office.
Prosecutor's Office on “activities going beyond statutory tasks”
The first investigation was initiated on October 22 this year. It concerns, among other things, the abuse of powers by the former Ombudsman for Children and the General Director of his office in the period from December 2022 to December 2023 in Warsaw.
As stated in the announcement, the amount of PLN 209.4 thousand from the Office of the Ombudsman for Children is allocated for activities consisting in “printing a book intended as gifts for newlyweds and transferring its entire volume to third parties without concluding agreements specifying the purpose and rules of further distribution, (…) whereby they acted to the detriment of the public interest.
The proceedings also concern whether they exceeded their powers in the period from May to July 2023. According to the prosecutor's office, it would involve spending PLN 446,500 to finance the participation of 150 people in the World Youth Day religious celebrations in Lisbon.
Proc. Skiba wrote that these are “activities that go beyond the statutory tasks of the Ombudsman for Children.”
The same investigation is also being carried out regarding the abuse of powers on December 11, 2023, which would consist – as written – in spending PLN 24.1 thousand on renting a room and catering under an agreement with the Association of Polish Journalists for the needs of a conference organized by other entities. “Where is the Polish school heading? Reason or emotions”, over which RPD had exclusively honorary patronage.
“The notification was submitted – through the Department of Preparatory Proceedings of the National Prosecutor's Office – by the director of the Department of Labor, Social Affairs and Family at the Supreme Audit Office,” the spokesman said.
Mikołaj PawlakAlbert Zawada/PAP
“He acted against the interests of the grandmother and the child”
Another investigation was initiated on October 30 into the abuse of powers in the period from January 22 to March 10, 2021 in Warsaw, Limanowa and Rzeszów by the then RPD.
This is about organizing and then conducting mediation on March 10, 2021 in Limanowa between the parties to the civil proceedings, as a result of which a day later a several-year-old girl was deceived to Canada. The former children's rights ombudsman led to a meeting of the parties on March 11, during which “in a sudden and unagreed manner, under the pretext of going shopping and for a walk with the minor”, the Canadian grandparents took the child from Poland. In a statement, the prosecutor's office wrote that the Canadian grandparents did not allow the child to take any personal belongings and say goodbye to his grandmother, who had taken care of him until then.
In the opinion of the prosecutor's office, the abuse of powers also consisted in the fact that Mikołaj Pawlak, during the mediation meeting, referring to his function, assured the grandmother taking care of the girl about the possibility of taking legal action related to placing the girl in a foster family or, on the other hand, about the possibility of suspending the enforceability of the girl. court decision on the child's departure to Canada.
“This created the belief that the actions declared by Mikołaj Pawlak, who holds the office of the Ombudsman for Children, are within his statutory competences and will be taken in the future,” noted prosecutor Skiba. He added that the spokesman “acted to the detriment of the private interest of the grandmother and the child” as well as to the detriment of the public interest.
The notification of the suspicion of committing a crime in this case was submitted by the representatives of the current Ombudsman for Children. Currently, this function is held by Monika Horna-Cieślak.
“Both proceedings are at an early stage. Evidence is being collected to clarify all circumstances. All acts are punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years,” the statement said.
Main photo source: Albert Zawada/PAP