Lech Wałęsa, like every citizen, stands under the same legal framework. If he gave false testimony, responsibility should follow the same rules that apply to any other individual, according to comments by the Minister of Education and Science Krzysztof Szczucki on Polish Radio’s third program in relation to the indictment against the former president. [PAP]
Charges against Wałęsa
Reports from the wPolityce.pl portal indicate that the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges against the former President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Wałęsa. He is accused of providing false testimony during an interrogation in April 2016 at the Warsaw branch of the Institute of National Remembrance, where he was questioned as a witness. [PAP]
READ MORE: OUR NEWS. The release of material linked to Kiszczak’s wardrobe raises questions about Wałęsa and related charges brought against the former president in court. [PAP]
Wałęsa as a citizen equals any other citizen
The Minister of Education and Science, Krzysztof Szczucki, spoke on Radio Three about the matter. [PAP]
Wałęsa is a citizen who must face the same standards. If there is evidence of false testimony, it should lead to criminal liability.
– said Szczucki.
Historian colleagues who study the 20th century acknowledge that Wałęsa had periods of cooperation with security services, yet Wałęsa himself is unlikely to admit this, and there exists a small circle of admirers who dispute certain historical facts.
– added. [PAP]
Accusation of giving false testimony
As the spokesperson for the Warsaw Public Prosecution Service, Prosecutor Szymon Banna told PAP, the charges concern false statements about signing more than fifty documents. These include monetary certificates and an obligation to cooperate with the security service, all found in the personal file of a secret police operative nicknamed Bolek. The indictment has been sent to the Warsaw-Śródmieście District Court. [PAP]
The proceedings began in February 2016 in connection with Wałęsa’s public statements. He later claimed that materials found at the residence of Czesław Kiszczak, a former Interior Minister of the Polish People’s Republic, were fake. The Institute of National Remembrance sought to determine whether document falsification occurred and to identify possible perpetrators. Wałęsa initially held victim status in the IPN investigation. [PAP]
As part of the IPN process, evidence included a personal file and a work file linked to the undercover operative code-named Bolek, along with other materials uncovered during searches at the home of the widow of Czesław Kiszczak.
– said prosecutor Banna. [PAP]
The former president was questioned as a witness in April 2016. He stated that he never signed any cooperation agreement, never drafted or signed complaints, and never received money. After presenting numerous documents from the covert employee’s file, he denied drafting or signing more than fifty documents.
– said prosecutor Banna. [PAP]
Resignation of members of the Committee on Russian Influence
The minister also noted the removal of eight members from the State Commission investigating Russian influence on Poland’s internal security for 2007 to 2022. The dismissed members were Sławomir Cenckiewicz, Andrzej Zybertowicz, Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, Łukasz Ciegotura, Marek Szymaniak, Arkadiusz Puławski, Andrzej Kowalski, and Michał Wojnowski. [PAP]
Parliamentary factions representing the Civic Coalition, Poland 2050, PSL, New Left and parts of the Confederation backed the dismissal, while lawmakers from Law and Justice, Kukiz’15, and part of the Confederation opposed it. [PAP]
New appointees are to be named and the committee should continue its work under the applicable law.
– said the minister, noting that the Sejm vote appeared to dismantle the committee. [PAP]
The Civic Platform and allied groups have faced criticism for how the issue of Russian influence is handled. Others argue that the pursuit of truth about Polish-Russian relations after 2007 is essential, while some critics claim a political shift aims to reframe past events.
– emphasized Minister Szczucki. [PAP]
READ ALSO:
— What’s next for the Influence Committee The signals are contradictory. Kierwiński also claims that documents were copied and exported. [PAP]
– Strong comments following the committee member dismissals about Russian influence state that fear drives decisions; some see the situation as a de facto replay of 1992. [PAP]
– The doors are closed as the Sejm dismissed committee members tasked with investigating Russian influence. Hope remains for further revelations. [PAP]
wkt/PAP/Trójka