PiS politicians have been ensuring since July that Marcin Romanowski has nothing to hide and will be happy to answer all charges in the prosecutor's office, and he will certainly not go into hiding himself. Meanwhile, when the MP lost his immunity and the court decided to arrest him, Romanowski fell into the ground, and the party members changed their tune: they say it is civil disobedience.
Former deputy minister of justice and PiS MP Marcin Romanowski has been wanted on an arrest warrant since Thursday. On Monday, the court decided to arrest him temporarily, but so far the police have not been able to determine his whereabouts or arrest him. – I understand that this is civil disobedience – comments Michał Wójcik, an MP from Law and Justice.
“Civil disobedience”, previously unknown to the pre-trial detention procedure, is the result of the accelerated evolution of the perception of the law, because for years a completely different interpretation was in force in the United Right camp. – If someone has nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear – said Jacek Sasin, PiS MP, in 2019. – Honest people probably have nothing to be afraid of – emphasized Patryk Jaki, PiS MEP, during the rule of the United Right.
Marcin Romanowski TVN24
Marcin Romanowski was not supposed to hide
His party colleagues assured Romanowski of his honesty in July. – Minister Marcin Romanowski did nothing that would be contrary to the law – said MP Michał Wójcik on July 3. – These may be some minor shortcomings that occurred – Maria Krukowska emphasized on July 4. – He is an honest and noble man – assured Mariusz Gosek on July 11.
Marcin Romanowski claimed in July that he was ready to face justice: “if we reveal all the materials, then you will see that it is manipulation”, “the evidence would simply show lies.”
When Marcin Romanowski was detained on July 15, his representative said that he was still protected by the immunity of a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The former deputy minister himself claimed that he could not give it up. As for European immunity, let's call it a guarantee, he said.
After the unsuccessful first arrest, PiS politicians also claimed that it was unnecessary. – There was, of course, the narrative that he would try to hide, cheat, maybe go abroad. He had nothing to hide. – MP Michał Wójcik defended Romanowski at that time. – There's nothing to hide. He says: he wants to testify, he wants to really explain everything – assured MP Paweł Jabłoński.
Back in October, MP Marcin Romanowski himself assured that he would “respond to various requests from the prosecutor's office.” In this case, the politician also had support among his party colleagues. – He is ready to appear before the prosecutor's office and will not, has no intention of hiding or avoiding responsibility in any way – said Jan Kanthak on October 2.
Spokesman of the National Prosecutor's Office on the Romanowski case and his behaviorTVN24
If you don't go abroad, you'll have a sudden hemorrhage
After all immunities were lifted, the former deputy minister could face 11 charges again, but more problems continued to arise. First, the MP could not appear at the prosecutor's office due to a “trip abroad”, then he was ill.
Romanowski also fell ill last Monday, when the court was once again supposed to consider the prosecutor's request for his temporary arrest. – The man actually escaped with his life because he suffered a significant hemorrhage, I can say that, which really caused a life-threatening condition, and Mr. Romanowski came back from the other side – Bartosz Lewandowski, representative of MP Marcin Romanowski, told journalists.
As proof, a colleague from the parliamentary benches even published an appropriate photo, but when the court decided that the MP could be arrested, Marcin Romanowski checked himself out of the hospital and began his civil, one-man opposition to his arrest.
Main photo source: TVN24