In the first instance, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz was legally acquitted of the charge of hitting a cyclist at a pedestrian crossing in Hajnówka (Podlaskie). The entire verdict, including the discontinuation of the escape from the scene of the accident, was appealed by the prosecutor's office.
Defense lawyers will not file an appeal – said on Tuesday Tadeusz Wolfowicz, one of the lawyers of the MEP of the last term, and in the past, among others. premiere. The judgment of the court in Hajnówka is in line with their request. In their closing arguments, they requested acquittal or – when the court changed the legal qualification from a crime to a misdemeanor – discontinuation of the proceedings due to the statute of limitations for criminal convictions.
The District Prosecutor's Office in Białystok wanted the accused politician to receive half a year in prison suspended for two years, a three-year driving ban, and PLN 10,000. PLN subsidies for a social purpose and PLN 10,000. PLN compensation for the injured party.
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz was not present at the announcement of the verdict. He attended previous hearingsArtur Reszko/PAP
Hit by a crossing
The trial concerned an accident that occurred in the morning of May 4, 2019, at a marked pedestrian crossing in Hajnówka. The indictment stated that the 70-year-old cyclist who was hit by Cimoszewicz (she agrees to his name and image being published in the media) suffered a broken leg bone and abrasions on her face and hands.
The prosecutor's office accused the accused of unintentionally violating road safety rules, of not paying close attention to the road and not being particularly careful, and when approaching a crossing, he braked too late and caused an accident. She also accused him of running away from the scene.
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz hit a cyclist on the crossing. The politician issued a statementFormer Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz hit a 70-year-old cyclist at a pedestrian crossing in Hajnówka. The woman suffered minor injuries. The former prime minister's son said in a special statement that Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz had just learned that he was seriously ill. Fakty TVN
He pleads not guilty to the charges
The politician did not admit to causing the accident, he assured that he was driving at the speed limit and the cyclist entered the crossing; he also explained that he did not run away from the scene of the accident, but that together with his friends he took the injured woman – at her request – home, and from there she finally decided to go to the hospital.
The court in Hajnówka found that there was no evidence confirming the defendant's guilt, and the doubts could not be dispelled by other evidence. He assessed that the behavior considered by the prosecutor's office as leaving the scene of the accident constituted an offense; in this respect, the proceedings were discontinued due to the statute of limitations for criminal convictions.
The prosecutor's office appealed against the verdict
The prosecutor's office appealed against the ruling in its entirety and requests that the appealed judgment be repealed and the case referred to the first-instance court for reconsideration, said Łukasz Janyst, spokesman for the District Prosecutor's Office in Białystok.
Read also: Former prime minister accused of hitting a cyclist. The court wants a supplementary expert opinion
As explained in a statement published on the website of this prosecutor's office, the author of the appeal accused the contested judgment of violating a number of provisions of procedural law. “In particular, by making a selective assessment of the evidence and omitting unfavorable conclusions for the accused contained in the opinion of the Institute of Forensic Expertise (…) in Krakow, which resulted in acquittal, while the evidence collected in the course of the proceedings justified the attribution of the crime charged to the accused” – Janyst informed.
Cimoszewicz: my car did not have any important tests, but it had nothing to do with the accident06/05 | Former Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz hit a 70-year-old cyclist on a pedestrian crossing in Hajnówka on Saturday. The car he was driving did not have any valid technical inspections. – It is secured in our parking lot, it has not had valid technical inspections since October – said the press spokesman for the Podlasie police, Chief Inspector Tomasz Krupa, in an interview with tvn24.pl. Cimoszewicz explained to journalists that “it had nothing to do with the accident, because the car was and remains 100 percent functional.” tvn24
The appeal will be heard by the District Court in Białystok.
Main photo source: Artur Reszko/PAP