Why Could Polish Government Face Criminal Prosecution?

Thursday, 23 November 2023

It's been a little over a month since the parliamentary elections in Poland, making the ruling parrty Law and Justice (PiS) lose power in the country.

And we see the first revelations from a former PiS MP. It could result in the criminal prosecution of representatives of the current government.

Read more about the informational wave in Poland caused by Tomasz Kaczmarek, and its potential consequences, in the article by Stanislav Zhelikhovskyi, a PhD in political science and international expert – Special Services Against the Opposition: How "Agent Tomek" Created a Problem for Poland's Old Government.

According to Polish media, on 17 November, former PiS MP and the most famous agent of the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, Tomasz Kaczmarek (also known as "Agent Tomek"), filed a criminal complaint with the district prosecutor's office in Olsztyn. Om top of that, he filed a motion to grant him the status of a key witness.

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This status allows avoiding punishment or significantly mitigating the sentence, provided crucial information is provided for the investigation.

The testimony given by "Agent Tomek" is indeed of utmost importance. He testified that the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of Poland, Mariusz Kamiński, and his deputy, Maciej Wąsik, ordered to share classified information to journalists who like PiS to discredit their political opponents.

Thus, Poland got its "Watergate scandal," the outcome of which could be the criminal prosecution of top PiS politicians.

According to Kaczmarek, they used wiretapping, surveillance, and espionage to track political opponents.

"The knowledge obtained in this way was used at various levels. The media, as well as internal manipulations by PiS officials who, using wiretapping and knowing the plans of the opposition (Civic Platform, Left, or Polish Coalition) adapted their methods to disarm the ideas and plans of competitors," Kaczmarek shared.

According to him, the media were considered "a tool to achieve their own political goals, and publications were seen as part of the operation."

We didn't have to wait long for the reaction to Tomasz Kaczmarek's testimony. The press service of the Minister-Coordinator of Special Services Mariusz Kamiński has reacted to it.

"Kaczmarek's current activity is another attempt to achieve impunity. His story is based on lies," a statement on government websites reads.

PiS MP Kacper Płażyński noted that "Tomasz Kaczmarek is a quite discredited person who seems to be judged for fraud."

"So he's not a really reliable person," he added.

Instead, Kaczmarek's testimony could be a real gift for the future government of Donald Tusk.

Especially, given depoliticising many spheres of public life in the country, as mentioned in the coalition agreement signed on 10 November by the opposition.

This document stands for the liquidation of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. Its resources and powers should be transferred to other services, including the department for combating corruption crimes in the Central Criminal Police Directorate.

Thanks to this, as stated in the agreement, the fight against corruption, from which the previous government completely abstained, will be strengthened.

This story may turn out to be the beginning of evidence of violations by the Polish government over the past eight years. If, of course, the new government can bring this investigation to a conclusion and ensure the protection of the key witness.

The massive disclosure of such testimonies could completely change the political landscape of the country.

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