The Marshal of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, announced that at the session beginning tomorrow, a vote will be held on a motion to lift the immunity of PiS MP Michał Woś, and at the next meeting a motion to lift immunity and to order the arrest and temporary detention of arrestee Marcin Romanowski (PiS) will also be on the agenda. It was also learned that the Sejm has received a separate request to lift the immunity of another PiS politician, Mariusz Błaszczak, who formerly led the Ministry of National Defense and currently chairs the parliamentary club of the largest opposition party.
The National Prosecution’s request for permission to hold the Sovereign Poland politician and PiS MP Michał Woś criminally liable was submitted to the Sejm at the end of May. It concerns the investigation by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office into the spending on Pegasus-like software from the Justice Fund as well as the spending of public funds for a Pegasus license. The request will be considered by the House Rules Committee on Wednesday.
Hołownia told reporters on Tuesday that the immunity-lifting vote for Woś will take place during the Sejm session that starts on Wednesday.
During the next meeting, Hołownia said, the Attorney General’s request to lift the immunity of PiS MP and Sovereign Poland member Marcin Romanowski, along with his detention and temporary arrest, will be discussed. He added that he had submitted the request to the regulations committee on Tuesday.
Even if the committee moves quickly, the short deadline for Romanowski to review the application will not pass, so the vote is expected to occur in the next Sejm session, the marshal stated.
— declared the marshal.
Investigation into the Justice Fund
GUT spokeswoman Anna Adamiak announced last week that the request to waive Romanowski’s immunity and allow his detention concerns the Justice Fund investigation. She stated that the evidence gathered includes personal sources of evidence, documentation related to the procedures for granting Justice Fund grants, analysis of secure documents, and electronic information media, which point to a sufficiently justified suspicion that MP Marcin Romanowski committed crimes.
According to Prosecutor Adamiak, these crimes include taking part in an organized group aimed at committing crimes against property, exceeding powers, failing to fulfill obligations, and certifying falsehoods in documents to cause wide damage to the Ministry of Finance’s property for personal and wealth benefits.
Marcin Romanowski served as Deputy Minister of Justice from 2019 to 2023; since 2018 he also acted as a proxy for the then-Head of the Ministry of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, in relation to the Justice Fund.
Efforts to Lift Błaszczak’s Immunity
In May, a private prosecutor submitted a request to the Sejm to lift the immunity of the PiS club head, Mariusz Błaszczak. On June 18, the application was directed to the Rules, Substitutions and Immunities Committee. Katarzyna Karpa-Świderek, a spokeswoman for the Sejm chairman, confirmed this to PAP.
The immunity-lifting request for Mariusz Błaszczak was filed in May by the private prosecutor’s representative. On June 18, it was forwarded to the Rules, Substitutions and Immunities Committee, Karpa-Świderek noted.
She added that the request to waive immunity for the PiS club president was filed by the representative of the former operational commander of the Armed Forces, General Tomasz Piotrowski. The applicant cites Article 212 of the Criminal Code on public insult.
The issue was previously reported by Wirtualna Polska. The article highlighted that the application contains arguments accusing the former head of the Ministry of National Defense of defaming the commander for conduct that undermined trust in his position as operational commander of the armed forces, and that Błaszczak’s statements were publicly humiliating.
The case concerns the minister’s public criticism of the then operational commander of the armed forces, General Tomasz Piotrowski. It also touches upon a Russian missile found in a forest near Bydgoszcz in December 2022 and subsequently uncovered months later. Błaszczak later claimed that he was not informed in December about the missile entering Polish airspace.
— emphasized WP.
Kurzajewski on the General’s Handling
Mateusz Kurzajewski from the PiS parliamentary club commented on these developments. He suggested that General Piotrowski failed in his duties and is now venting his frustration, choosing to file a private complaint because he believes there are no grounds to accuse Błaszczak. He added that the full truth about the incident is contained in a Supreme Court report that should be made public.
At the end of April 2023, the Ministry of National Defense announced the discovery of remains of an unknown military facility near Zamość, about 15 km from Bydgoszcz, found by a random passerby in the woods. Officials stressed that the situation did not threaten residents. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Gdańsk opened an investigation into the case.
On May 11, 2023, then-Head of the Ministry of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, stated that the procedures and response mechanisms related to the object near Bydgoszcz worked properly up to the level of the operational commander. He accused the operational commander of the armed forces, General Tomasz Piotrowski, of not informing him or the relevant services about the missile entering Polish airspace.
In October 2023, just before parliamentary elections, the Chief of the General Staff, General Rajmund Andrzejczak, and the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces, General Tomasz Piotrowski, ended their working relationship. The President later appointed Lieutenant General Wiesław Kukuła as Chief of the General Staff and Major General Maciej Klisz as the Operational Commander of the Armed Forces.
yes/DAD
Source: wPolityce