Zbigniew Ziobro. Application for arrest for a former minister. Is the decision of the parliamentary committee

Ziobro did not appear several times before the PEGASUS inquiry commission, and on January 31, despite the forced bringing by the police to the Sejm, he came to the meeting when the Commission had already finished the meeting. The MP may not be arrested without the consent of the Sejm, i.e. without lifting his immunity in a given case. If the immunity is repealed, the application for arrest goes to a court that makes a decision in this case.

Members of the Penasus Investigation Committee came to the Thursday meeting of the Regulations. After 14 o'clock, the Commission decided to recommend to the Sejm to repeal immunity and consent to the application of up to 30 days of prison against PiS MP Zbigniew Ziobro.

At the same meeting, the Commission also recommended to the Sejm to repeal the immunity of PiS MP Marcin Romanowski and consent to his detention and arrest.

The head of the PEGASUS inquiry commission Magdalena Sroka during the discussion at the meeting of the Regulations committee referred to the last meeting of the Pegasus committee, which Ziobro was to be brought to, but he arrived when the deliberations were completed. Earlier he gave an interview on TV Republika. In her opinion, the former Minister of Justice “, by giving an interview on friendly television, prevented police officers from bringing him to interrogation before the investigation commission.”

As she noted, no court would allow the witness to disregard his duties so demonstratively. – Today, the regulatory committee may give its resolution proof that we respect our state, that we do not agree to double standards, that we will not allow Zbigniew Ziobra to appear above the law – said the MP.

Then PiS MP Michał Wójcik, representing the former Minister of Justice, took the floor. “This commission should not be today,” he said. – Politics consists in discourse, disputes. But we must go on the basis of law and as part of the law. Society made an appointment for certain rules of the game. And these rules were set out in the Polish constitution. You cannot accept from such that there is no constitutional court – said Wójcik, pointing to the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal on the PEGASUS Inquiry Commission.

In his opinion, Ziobro, as a former prosecutor general, did not appear to the committee meeting, because he made it authenticated that she was breaking the law.

– The Polish state is a state of law and the law should be respected by them and it is difficult to disagree with it – said Zbigniew Ziobro. According to him, he is the “victim of the actions” of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which are associated with breaking the law. – The Polish constitution, to which you have so eagerly referred to for 8 years of our rule, says in Article 190 that the rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal have universally binding power and are final – he said.

– I did not appear voluntarily before your illegal commission, because if I appeared, I would disregard the legal status that is in force in Poland, to which I refer. I would show, contempt for Polish law, aware that it is broken in this way through the action of an illegal organ – emphasized Ziobro.

– I stand on the basis of law, and you stand on the basis of Donald Tusk's statements, who said that he would not always follow the letter of the law – said the former head of MS.

He emphasized that he decided to return to Poland and let himself be brought to the meeting of the Pegasus committee, “not to give anyone a basis for the claims that his possible meeting with the commission raises his fears.” He admitted that he would even be advised to confront the commission. – I think that we have all reasons to be proud of the actions taken to improve the safety of Poles, and many specific actions taken with Pegasus served this – he said.

He also noted that he was there before the Pegasus committee finished his work. – There was all the possibility to confront, you would call it testimonies, (…) But you didn't want it. You decided to organize a trap – he assessed.

Ziobro said that his arrest would be a testimony to the moral condition of the ruling groups. “Let the voters themselves assess the issues of decency,” Ziobro added.

In their arguments, PiS politicians cite the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal from September last year, in which the Tribunal ruled that the scope of the activity of the investigation commission on Pegasus is unconstitutional, and the resolution on the establishment of the commission was affected by a “legal defect”.

At the beginning of March last year The Sejm adopted a resolution on the removal of the effects of the constitutional crisis of 2015-2023 and stated that “in the activities of the public authority of the CT, the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal issued in violation of law may be considered as a violation of the principle of legalism by these authorities.” Since the adoption of this resolution by the Sejm, the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal are not published in the Journal of Laws. In turn, in December last year The government resolution stated, among others, that the announcement of official decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal could lead to the consolidation of the state of the rule of law.

A member of the PEGASUS Inquiry Commission, MP Witold Zembaczyński, referred to Ziobra's speech. – His speech completely omits the essence of the application, which was submitted by the Pegasus committee. Namely, we are talking here about the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the situation in which Ziobro has already been punished with penalties with PLN 5,000 for lack of appearance – he explained.

He appealed not to be surprised that the Commission was implementing the law and submitted an application to the court to consider 30 days of detention for the former Minister of Justice in order to carry out the interrogation.

– What is done today both on this committee and in the entire five -stage process of the lack of appearance of Zbigniew Ziobra is a kind of precedent in the Polish Sejm. Neither the constitution in which the Investigation Commission is included, nor the Act on the Investigation Commission, nor, even more so the practice so far has come across a situation in which the MP simply disregards the duties on it – he noted.

The head of the PiS club Mariusz Błaszczak sent a letter to the Sejm Marshal Szymon Hołownia to suspend the procedure of the PEGASUS Investigation Commission's request regarding the revocation of Ziobra's immunity to arrest him for 30 days. Hołownia announced on Thursday morning that he did not take into account this application. – Today we will decide about detention for Zbigniew Ziobro, who mocks the Polish state – said the marshal.