MP Marcin Romanowski, wanted on an arrest warrant, writes a letter to the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, and sets conditions. He lists in five points what must happen for him to return to Poland. Let us recall that prosecutors filed charges against him on 11 counts and activated the European Arrest Warrant, which should also operate in Hungary. Will it work?
Marcin Romanowski gives Poland an ultimatum – he will return to the country, but only if the government publishes the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal and reinstates the dismissed court presidents and the former national prosecutor. The list goes on. – It is pathetic that someone suspected of serious crimes dares to impose any conditions on the Republic of Poland – comments the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, Tomasz Siemoniak.
– This government already knows that it has one foot in crime – says Michał Wójcik, an MP from Law and Justice.
The prosecutor's office brought a number of serious charges against Romanowski, including fixing competitions for money from the Justice Fund and participating in an organized criminal group. Romanowski fled to Hungary, but President Andrzej Duda is surprised by something completely different.
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– I was surprised that such forces and resources were used to search for the MP as if he were a criminal, a bandit of the highest caliber – said the president on RMF FM.
PiS defends Romanowski
Decisions on lifting immunity were made by the Council of Europe, and decisions on detention and arrest were made by independent courts, not politicians in power – the government now emphasizes.
– This criminal group, headed by Mr. Zbigniew Ziobro, has proven more than once that it does not respect any law and that former Minister Romanowski does not respect this law – says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitization Krzysztof Gawkowski.
– Mr. Romanowski wrote that he is ready to appear before justice in a few hours if a fair trial is guaranteed – comments Michał Wójcik.
That is, when the court refused to detain him for the first time. invoking the immunity that protected him – then the trial was fair. It is not fair when the court agrees to arrest Romanowski.
– When they ruled, they said that innocent people had nothing to fear – notes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. – The justice system did a lot and really effectively in relation to Mr. Romanowski. Now we are waiting to hear what the Hungarian court will say on this matter, says Arkadiusz Myrcha, Deputy Minister of Justice.
What can the government do about this?
The government summoned the Hungarian ambassador to the carpet, and the Polish ambassador will leave Hungary indefinitely, but apart from these symbols, the government has quite limited options. Theoretically, Hungary is obliged to execute the European Arrest Warrant, but this is just a theory.
– They should stop and execute the European Arrest Warrant and take the case to court – says Mariusz Paplaczyk, lawyer.
However, before the decision is made by the local courts, which are already accused of politicization, state services subordinated to the government would first have to detain Romanowski, put him on trial, and then possibly put him on a plane to Poland. However, Brussels may intervene.
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– Hungary's refusal to execute the European Arrest Warrant will be considered a failure to fulfill an obligation of a Member State, which may result in, in the most extreme case, a complaint by the European Commission to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg – points out Bartłomiej Przymusiński from. Association of Polish Judges “Iustitia”.
This, in turn, may cost Hungary dearly, but it also takes a lot of time. People in power say that we won't have to wait that long. – If we look at the last few years and even the last weeks, we can see that anyone can be recruited. Relax, everything is legal, but effective. He must answer strictly for all this, says Dariusz Joński, MEP from the Civic Coalition.
Main photo source: Paweł Supernak/PAP