The awarded damages have been paid, so the case of the accident involving the government limousine carrying the then Prime Minister Beata Szydło will not come back to the docket – the court decided. The proceedings were conditionally discontinued in February 2023, and now the court has decided not to reopen the case.
The court’s decision was announced by lawyer Władysław Pociej, defender of Sebastian Kościelnik, who was accused of causing the accident. The event took place on February 10, 2017 in Oświęcim.
The police reported that three government cars with the then Prime Minister Beata Szydło (her vehicle was inside) overtook a Fiat Seicento. Its driver, Sebastian Kościelnik, allowed the first car to pass, then started turning left and hit the car with the then head of government, which consequently drove into a tree. The Prime Minister and an officer of the Government Protection Bureau were injured.
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The court conditionally discontinued the case
In mid-March 2018, the Krakow district prosecutor’s office submitted a request to the court in Oświęcim for conditional discontinuation of the proceedings. The accused and his defense attorney did not agree to the discontinuation; so the case went to the main hearing. In 2020, the Oświęcim district court found the driver of the Fiat Seicento guilty of unintentionally causing the accident. At the same time, he conditionally discontinued the proceedings for one year. The court found that the BOR driver also broke the regulations. According to the judgment, the seicento driver must pay PLN 1,000 each. zloty. compensation to those injured in the accident – former Prime Minister Beata Szydło and a BOR officer. He had two months to do so after the judgment became final. The court released him from the costs of the trial. He also pointed out that other road users also contributed to the accident.
After this judgment, former Prime Minister Beata Szydło wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that “since this case arouses unnecessary emotions in some media, despite the invalidity of the judgment, I would like to declare now that I waive the compensation awarded to me.”
Final judgment in this case issued in February this year by the District Court in Kraków. It upheld the ruling in relation to Sebastian Kościelnik. This means that the driver of the seicento remains guilty of unintentionally causing the accident. In its judgment, the court of second instance overturned the judgment in respect of the decision in one point.
Kościelnik: the court emphasized that other people could also be co-responsible for this eventTVN24
“We haven’t received the account numbers yet”
Wednesday’s session of the District Court for Poznań-Grunwald and Jeżyce in Poznań was closed to the public. After the decision was announced, Sebastian Kościelnik’s defense attorney informed him about its content.
– The court’s decision (is) the only right one, i.e. the refusal to undertake the conditionally discontinued proceedings because the compensation has been paid – although only and exclusively thanks to the personal efforts of my client and myself, because we were the ones who determined the method of fulfilling this obligation, even though we turned to the court after providing the account numbers to which the compensation can be paid – we have not received any to date – said lawyer Władysław Pociej.
He explained that if the compensation had not been paid, in accordance with the content of the final judgment – i.e. compensation in the amount of PLN 1,000. PLN to the victims of the accident, i.e. former Prime Minister Beata Szydło and a BOR officer – the court could conditionally discontinue the proceedings. This would mean that the case would be reopened.
When asked by journalists in court how the compensation was paid, Pociej said that “one compensation was sent in the name and surname of the injured officer to the address of the State Protection Service in Warsaw, i.e. to the company. The second compensation was sent by ordinary postal order to the address this lady’s home, arranged by me.”
The defense wants acquittal and goes to the Supreme Court
He added that the prosecutor did not question on Wednesday that the verdict had been implemented and the compensation had been effectively paid to the victims. – He was also consistent with our position when it comes to not taking any action – noted Pociej.
He also recalled that a cassation appeal had still been filed in the Supreme Court. The defense wants to fight for acquittal. – So far, we have no information about the fate of this appeal – said Pociej.
When asked by journalists about the attitude of the former prime minister, who – according to her lawyer – did not provide her account number to which Kościelnik could pay the compensation, he said that “it is difficult for me to be responsible for this lady.”
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– However, I have the impression – unless I’m wrong, maybe you will take a different position – it seems to me that everything was done to prevent her from taking the money. However, my client, in turn, was obliged to pay the surcharge, because this was the content of the judgment, and paying the surcharge for any other purposes indicated by Mrs. Szydło or her attorney was obviously out of the question – that is obvious. Neither her attorney nor she herself has the power to change the content of a final judgment, the lawyer emphasized.
Sebastian Kościelnik told journalists on Wednesday that he was relieved by the decision of the Poznań court, because – as he pointed out – “the specter that these proceedings could be resumed was quite terrifying, because everything would be carried out all over again, which would probably mean another few years of proceedings before the court.” “.
The case was handled by the Poznań district court as the competent executive court to adjudicate due to Sebastian Kościelnik’s place of residence at that time.
Main photo source: TVN24