The defense counsel for Prosecutor Jerzy Ziarkiewicz, attorney Michał Skwarzyński, has issued a statement to the media in which he points to “a series of omissions and falsehoods” in one of Onet’s articles. The author of the piece claims, among other things, that due to an acquaintance with a judge, the prosecutor may avoid having his immunity lifted. What is the truth?
According to Onet’s article, Prosecutor Jerzy Ziarkiewicz—whom investigators want to charge, among other things, with abuse of authority and certifying falsehoods—personally knows the judge to whom the case concerning the lifting of his immunity was assigned.
“Tomasz Demendecki does not know Jerzy Ziarkiewicz privately, beyond some sporadic professional contacts during their simultaneous membership on a multi-member examination commission,” attorney Skwarzyński wrote in his statement, adding that “it is not true that the gentlemen know each other from their university studies.”
The attorney describes as completely fabricated the claim that Supreme Court judge Prof. Tomasz Demendecki was recused due to this alleged acquaintance.
“The recusal occurred because I am the defense counsel for the Regional Prosecutor in Lublin, Jerzy Ziarkiewicz, and that is the sole reason. Whenever I take on a case involving a judge (and I have had such clients both during the tenure of Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and earlier), we clearly establish that at least until the conclusion of the case in which I represent the judge, I will file motions for that judge’s recusal for this reason,” he emphasized.
Skwarzyński notes that this is yet another attack on Prof. Demendecki during the period of elections at the Supreme Court.
The attorney is also concerned about the manner in which an Onet journalist allegedly contacted the judge.
“On December 18, 2025, an individual calling from an unknown number contacted the Judge by phone, identifying himself as an Onet journalist—Sebastian Białach. He requested information about the immunity case of Prosecutor J. Ziarkiewicz pending before the Supreme Court’s Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs. He asked whether the case was assigned to the Judge and stated that the Judge must recuse himself from the case due to a personal acquaintance with the Prosecutor. Given the lack of knowledge of the caller’s identity, the Judge interrupted the conversation and refused to comment or provide any information about the case, referring the individual to the Supreme Court’s press office,” the statement reads. Moreover, during the conversation the Judge reportedly informed the journalist that he knows Prosecutor Ziarkiewicz only professionally, not privately.