“What the government is doing today, threatening the head of one of the television stations, TV Republika, effectively seeking to prosecute him, summoning him as a witness, is yet another embarrassment – an attack on the fourth estate, on the media. There is no longer democracy in Poland; if there were, other media outlets would have raised the alarm,” said today in the Sejm Michał Wójcik, a former minister and MP from Law and Justice (PiS).
On Sunday, TV Republika announced that Zbigniew Ziobro, currently in the United States, would become a new commentator for the station. The politician traveled there from Hungary, where he had been granted political asylum. A day after the announcement, the head of TV Republika, Tomasz Sakiewicz, was summoned to the prosecutor’s office in a case concerning the former Minister of Justice.
“The entire situation is a major embarrassment for Donald Tusk and the government – the entire dysfunctional system that has ruled Poland for the past three years. This is an image disaster, widely discussed even within the government’s own circles. Some media outlets have switched to a mode claiming that ‘Zbigniew Ziobro fled’ and ‘Zbigniew Ziobro stole’. First and foremost, I want to stress that Zbigniew Ziobro did not flee anywhere; he can move freely and legally, and the fact that this dysfunctional system does not know what documents he possesses is a separate matter,” Wójcik said during a press conference of Law and Justice (PiS) MPs, referring to the government formed by United Right (Zjednoczona Prawica).
He also pointed out that “what the government is doing today – threatening the head of one of the television stations, TV Republika, effectively seeking to prosecute him and summoning him as a witness – is yet another embarrassment, an attack on the fourth estate, on the media.”
“There is no longer democracy in Poland. If there were, other media outlets would have raised the alarm. Imagine your own executives being summoned by the prosecutor’s office – this is unacceptable. But how can a crime be committed when the act in question is not a crime? The problem lies with the government, which did not know what documents Zbigniew Ziobro holds and that he can move freely. If today this dysfunctional system says it will prepare an extradition request, it is making a complete fool of itself. Such a case in the United States takes years and is assessed both legally and politically, and if it were to reach any American judge, anyone would shake their head at what is happening in Poland when they see Ziobro being prosecuted for, for example, allocating funds for the renovation of a prosecutor’s office,” Wójcik added.
He emphasized that, in the context of alleged “theft”, “Zbigniew Ziobro did not steal a single zloty,” and noted that the prosecutor’s charges include, among other things, support for the Budzik Clinic and the fire brigade.
“Today, Zbigniew Ziobro cannot count on a fair trial in Poland. (…) Today, Tusk remains silent on the matter because he knows it is an embarrassment and has damaged the image of this government. (…) He failed to deliver on healthcare – it is a disaster; on the state budget – it is a disaster; and he also failed to produce the image he wanted – Ziobro in handcuffs. Even that could not be achieved,” Wójcik added, pointing out that the government should instead address the case of Wojciech Król, an MP from Civic Platform (KO), whose parliamentary immunity the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking to lift.
Warchoł: The U.S. knows what is happening in Poland
Then former Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Warchoł stated that Ziobro’s stay in the United States signals that “the American administration is aware that the minister cannot expect a fair and reliable trial in Poland.”
“This is also important information for this dysfunctional system, which is ready for all kinds of wrongdoing (…), where the prime minister prejudges guilt. A manifestation of this is the disgraceful statement by the Minister of Justice that he would be transported in a car trunk – these are the darkest days of the communist era. (…) Such acts of malice and baseness have been directed at Minister Ziobro,” Warchoł said.
“And this will ultimately be examined by the courts – but when will it reach an American court? When an extradition request is filed. And when will that happen? Once the decision on pre-trial detention becomes final. And when will that become final? Most likely in September, when the appellate court considers the defense’s appeal against the ruling,” he concluded.
He assessed that the current prosecutor’s office “has been unable to effectively present charges against Zbigniew Ziobro.”