“Citizens deserve to be able to see transparently how Zbigniew Ziobro's prosecutor's office operated”

A detailed report on the analysis of 200 prosecutorial proceedings from the last two terms of office of Law and Justice landed on the desk of the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, on the last day of the year. This is the result of over four months of work by a special team established at the National Prosecutor's Office.

– After these few years, citizens deserve to be able to see transparently how Zbigniew Ziobro's prosecutor's office operated, what investigations were discontinued for political reasons, what investigations gained momentum – comments Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram from the “Free Courts” Initiative.

Details of the report will be presented in exactly one week. Minister Bodnar is already writing about evidence of a systemic disease affecting the prosecutor's office, about cases conducted unreliably and requiring resumption.

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The announcement of the report was part of the summary of the government's year of work at the beginning of December. The team itself was established by the national prosecutor in mid-August. In November, the team was expanded from five to ten people. The team's work is led by prosecutor Katarzyna Kwiatkowska. In total, over 600 proceedings are reviewed. – After conducting a survey of proceedings in all prosecutor's offices – says Katarzyna Kwiatkowska from the National Prosecutor's Office.

– This report shows that gangrene was actually affecting the entire prosecutor's office – says Paweł Śliz, MP from Poland 2050-Trzecia Droga. – What was the scale of protection, how people were protected – this is absolutely shocking – emphasizes Anita Kucharska-Dziedzic, an MP from the Left.

The minister's announcement shows that in confirmed cases, the report will be the basis for disciplinary and criminal proceedings.

– Every prosecutor is a public official, therefore he may be liable for exceeding the powers of a public official, for example for hiding files in the garage, as was the case with prosecutor Ziarkiewicz – points out Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram.

When the first information about the establishment of the team appeared, “Gazeta Wyborcza” reported that one of the investigated investigations concerned the Srebrna company associated with Law and Justice, the “two towers” and an envelope with PLN 50,000, which was supposed to go to a priest sitting in the authorities. foundation managing the company. According to media reports, Jarosław Kaczyński was directly interested in this investigation.

– Jarosław Kaczyński is responsible for creating the prosecutor's office as a tool to protect politicians and give them impunity. He created this arrangement. He was the patron of this arrangement. He handed the prosecutor's office over to Zbigniew Ziobro – comments Michał Szczerba, MEP of the Civic Coalition.

Here, Law and Justice politicians respond that the current government is politically using the prosecutor's office. – These activities, these reports, these audits – whatever we call them – are part of a quite clear program of repressive action – says Piotr Kaleta, an MP from Law and Justice.

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– I am convinced that for purely political reasons there will be an attempt to attack the previous management of the prosecutor's office and the previous Minister of Justice – says Michał Wójcik, an MP from Law and Justice.

– We must clean up the justice system so that every citizen feels safe if he falls into the gears of this justice system. After all, criminal proceedings, especially prosecutorial ones, may end with imprisonment – points out Paweł Śliz.

Politicians of the ruling coalition hope that the report will be the basis not only for the internal purification of the prosecutor's office, but also for holding accountable politicians who had a direct influence on the actions of investigators.

– Zbigniew Ziobro is someone who was at the forefront of this practice – both breaking the characters, careers and spines of prosecutors and judges, but also at the forefront of hiding from responsibility – says Anita Kucharska-Dziedzic. Two former deputy ministers of justice were brought to justice – Michał Woś in the case of the purchase of the Pegasus spy system, and Marcin Romanowski in the case of the Justice Fund. The latter asked for asylum in Hungary. The Prosecutor General submitted applications to waive the immunities of several MPs and MEPs of the former ruling party.