Senate Committee Recommends Against Waiving Grodzki Immunity Amid Heightened Political Tension

The regulatory committee of the Senate on Tuesday recommended denying the prosecution’s request to lift the immunity of Senate Marshal Tomasz Grodzki.

Seven members supported the negative recommendation, five opposed it, and there were no abstentions.

It was predictable that the Senate Rules Committee would oppose the motion to waive Grodzki’s immunity. The issue is creating ongoing commentary within political circles, with commentators noting tensions around Parliament’s procedures.

Deputy Marshal Marek Pęk wrote that such developments are a sign of deeper political maneuvering.

“Dark clouds are gathering,”

the Marshal responded with a firm stance: if the motion is properly written, it will be sent to the committee for review.

The Senate Presidium will decide on the immunity issue at its upcoming session, which begins on Wednesday.

The waiver request is being pressed by the Szczecin Regional Prosecutor’s Office, which filed a new motion last December. The office claims that Grodzki, in his roles as head of a Szczecin hospital and director of the local Thoracic Surgery department, accepted payments from patients or their families.

Grodzki, a professor of medical science and a surgeon, has consistently stated that the corruption charges lack evidence.

“I have never tied surgery to bribes,”

Grodzki told Radio Szczecin in December 2019 when initial reports appeared.

In late October last year, the Senate Information Center announced that the earlier motion from March 2021 to waive Grodzki’s immunity would not be considered. Deputy Marshal Bogdan Borusewicz disclosed that the motion was left unamended after the Senate requested changes.

Attorney General’s Action

In December, Attorney General Zbigniew Ziobro filed a new request with the Senate to lift the Speaker’s immunity. Investigators say the prior application had not been properly addressed. Grodzki described the move as part of a campaign aimed at destabilizing the Senate, which he said has long faced pressure from the ruling party.

The process to waive the immunity runs through the Speaker, who, after Senate experts assess formal conditions, forwards the request to the Rules, Ethics and Senatorial Affairs committee. The committee reviews it and then offers a recommendation to the full Senate. The Senate votes by an absolute majority on whether immunity should be lifted.

The Szczecin Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) announced last Thursday that charges involving Krzysztof K., a former head of a Szczecin department, were filed in connection with the case. Investigators said materials from the investigation had been excluded to allow the Senate to proceed without delay.

Grodzki Responds to the Campaign

Grodzki described the proceedings as a campaign not just against him but against the Senate as an institution in Poland, aimed at reshaping the majority of the ruling party through non-democratic means. He argued that the only legitimate path to a Senate majority is through free, fair elections.

The Senate president noted that the campaign involved the entire state apparatus and involved questions raised by the CBA and more than two hundred individuals questioned as part of the process, which he criticized as biased.

He pointed to reports of anonymous tips and accusations, stating that there is no verified evidence of wrongdoing that would justify legal action against him. He also mentioned threats directed at him and his family following press coverage, with no perpetrators identified to date.

Grodzki concluded that the current effort is part of a political struggle, not a straightforward legal process, and emphasized the importance of upholding democratic norms in Poland’s Senate.

As the situation unfolds, observers await the outcome of the upcoming committee and plenary sessions, where the role of immunity and accountability will be clarified in the light of ongoing investigations and political debate.

mly / PAP

Source: wPolityce