The events surrounding Marcin Romanowski, a PiS MP, a Sovereign Poland politician and a former deputy minister of justice, have gathered pace. On Tuesday, he was charged by the prosecutor, but he will not be arrested because the court did not agree to it. We remind you what this is all about.
The case in which the prosecutor's office accuses Marcin Romanowski concerns irregularities in the spending of funds from the Justice Fund and abuse of power by then-officials of the Ministry of Justice. Romanowski was deputy minister of justice in 2019-2023 and supervised this fund.
Marcin RomanowskiPAP
The National Prosecutor's Office has been conducting an investigation since February. Important evidence – as the Prosecutor General said Adam Bodnar – are the explanations of the suspect Tomasz Mraz, former director of the Justice Fund Department at the Ministry of Justice and a minor crown witness.
In May, Mraz spoke about the functioning of the Fund at a meeting of the parliamentary teamincriminated Romanowski, among others. Later, the media published several recordings showing irregularities in the Fund, in which Mraz talks to Romanowski, among others. – The director was the closest associate of Marcin Romanowski, deputy minister and close associate Zbigniew Ziobro – he introduced him Roman GiertychMP, chairman of the team and at the same time attorney, defender of Mraz.
Immunity lifted, charges filed, arrest request rejected
During the investigation, the prosecutor's office decided to bring charges against Romanowski.
On June 19, the Prosecutor General submitted a motion to the Sejm to lift his immunity and consent to his detention and arrest.
On July 12, the Sejm voted to give its consent.
On July 15, Monday, Romanowski was detained by the Internal Security Agency and taken to the prosecutor's office. He was charged thereto which he did not admit.
On July 16, Tuesday, the prosecutor's office filed a motion to the court to arrest Romanowski, arguing that there was a risk of tampering. The politician's attorney argued that although Romanowski's parliamentary immunity had been lifted, he was still protected by the immunity of a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Marcin RomanowskiJacek Szydlowski / Forum
The National Prosecutor's Office stated that “in the course of the investigation, the prosecutor examined the scope of immunity granted to members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, including MP Marcin Romanowski”. “Both the analysis of the applicable regulations and the content of the opinions obtained in this regard from two independent experts directly confirm that the immunity of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe did not exclude the possibility of detaining and bringing charges against MP Marcin Romanowski. It also does not exclude the possibility of his temporary arrest” – we read in the release.
The court did not agree with this argument and did not agree to Romanowski's arrest. On the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the politician was released.
What is the prosecutor's office accusing Romanowski of?
The charges relate to committing 11 crimes, consisting of “participation in an organized group aimed at committing crimes against property, in particular by exceeding authority and failing to fulfill obligations and certifying falsehoods in documents, causing significant damage to the property of the State Treasury in order to gain personal and financial benefits.”
Romanowski does not admit to the charges brought against him. From the beginning, he has been convinced that the charges brought against him are “a political setup and revenge by Tusk and Giertych”. He assured that in carrying out his duties as deputy minister, “he always acted in accordance with the law”, and “every competition, every decision has a documented, substantive justification”.
Main image source: PAP/Tomasz Gzell