For the first time, the Sejm has to determine whether remuneration should be paid to an MP wanted on an arrest warrant. And it turns out that for now, yes. As for the place to which Marcin Romanowski could have escaped, it was determined that it was probably not to the Opus Dei center, because the organization officially declared that it was not hiding him.
The ninth day has passed since the escape of Marcin Romanowski, an MP from Law and Justice and former deputy minister of justice in the PiS government.
The prosecutor charges him with 11 charges related to fixing competitions from the ministerial Justice Fund. – The services are looking for everywhere where one might expect to find a person who is hiding from the Polish justice system – says Tomasz Siemoniak, Minister of Interior and Administration from the Civic Coalition. The MP has turned off his phones and is not at the addresses available to the police.
Bodnar: the search area will have to be expanded to Europe
Speculations as to where the fugitive is hiding forced the Opus Dei organization, of which the PiS MP is a member, to issue a statement assuring that he is not staying in any of their centers. The prelature claims to have no knowledge of his whereabouts.
So where did Marcin Romanowski escape to? – I don't think he would run away – said PiS MP Zbigniew Kuźmiuk in the Sejm.
In a moment, not only Polish services will be looking for the Law and Justice MP. – This search area will probably need to be extended to European countries – said the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Adam Bodnar on TVN24 on Monday.
Marcin Romanowski is in hiding, although he assured that he would not do soKatarzyna Kolenda-Zaleska/Fakty TVN
A European arrest warrant may be issued at any moment. Romanowski's lawyer, Bartosz Lewandowski, filed a complaint against the court's decision to temporarily arrest the MP.
The court has seven days to respond to the complaint. – Every day of hiding from the Polish justice system worsens the situation and is demoralizing – comments Minister Tomasz Siemoniak.
Why is Romanowski in a comfortable situation?
Marcin Romanowski is an MP. The three-day session of the Sejm begins on Wednesday. – I checked the regulations on what Marshal Hołownia should do in this situation. Can he assume in this situation that Marcin Romanowski is still an MP? And how can he perform his duties as an MP if he is in hiding? – asks Adam Bodnar. – It turns out that there is no such regulation on this subject at all, because no one predicted such a situation – he adds.
Since the MP is free and not in custody, nothing can be done. As we hear in the Sejm, Romanowski will be paid money until he is detained, with part of the amount for absences deducted.
READ ALSO: Where is Romanowski? Opus Dei: not with us
Therefore, MP Romanowski is in a very comfortable situation because wherever he stays, both his salary and parliamentary allowance are transferred to his account. If a member of parliament is absent from a sitting of the Sejm, he or she will face only a minor penalty.
– If he is absent and has an appropriate level of absence, his salary will be cut – says Krzysztof Bosak, deputy speaker of the Sejm from Confederation. The Chancellery of the Sejm is currently conducting legal analyses: what is the situation of an MP wanted on an arrest warrant?
The Law and Justice MP is hiding like a common criminal, and all taxpayers are contributing to his escape. So much for civil opposition, supposedly in the name of higher causes.
Main photo source: Paweł Supernak/PAP