“The aim of what happened today was to read the indictment at any cost,” Attorney Michał Skwarzyński told our portal. Father Michał Olszewski’s lawyer criticized the behavior of the court and the prosecution during today’s hearing, pointing out glaring procedural errors and the disregard for the fact that the lay judges had not reviewed the case files.
Today, at the District Court in Warsaw, the session regarding grants from the Justice Fund for the Profeto Foundation continued. On the defendants’ bench are Father Michał Olszewski and former officials of the Ministry of Justice. Despite the defense filing multiple motions to disqualify Judge Justyna Koska-Janusz (including doubts about her impartiality and political involvement), the judge decided to continue the trial and proceeded with the reading of the indictment.
Immediately after leaving the courtroom (the judge scheduled the next hearing for February 10), Attorney Michał Skwarzyński spoke to our reporter and did not hide his outrage over how the session had unfolded.
“Task accomplished”
The lawyer noted that the court ignored evidence showing that the panel was not properly prepared for the case.
“The lay judges had no chance to familiarize themselves with the files,” Skwarzyński pointed out, referring to the court situation. He emphasized that for those handling the case, “the factual circumstances did not matter, it did not matter whether anyone could review anything.”
According to the attorney, today’s actions by the court were preordained to achieve a single outcome, regardless of legal circumstances.
“The aim of what happened today was to read the indictment at any cost. Please note that the court was not even interested in the positions of our clients. The trial ended, task accomplished in the form of reading the indictment, that’s it,” the lawyer for Father Olszewski reported.
A show instead of justice
When asked by our reporter why the prosecutor present in the courtroom did not object, seeing that the lay judges were unprepared, Attorney Skwarzyński gave a clear answer:
“Here no one expects a conviction for anything, this is all about putting on a show,” the attorney stated. He added that the prosecutor’s passivity on this matter stems from the nature of the entire case.
“The prosecution did not want, and still does not want, a substantive clarification of this case. The prosecution wants to create a situation where they chase the rabbit instead of clarifying anything.”
Did the court avoid the defendants’ explanations?
Attorney Skwarzyński also pointed out a violation of criminal procedure that occurred after the indictment was read. According to the logic of the trial, the next step should have been to give the defendants the floor. However, this did not happen.
“This should have immediately followed the reading of the indictment, giving the defendants the opportunity to present their statements,” the lawyer explained. This also was not done,” he said.
“The court may not have wanted to hear full explanations, but it should have received the defendants’ statements. You can see what this trial was really about,” Michał Skwarzyński summarized for Niezalezna.pl, adding that the conduct of the panel was “against the law.”
It is worth recalling that the defense challenges not only the preparation of the lay judges but also the very method of appointing the reporting judge, suggesting that the draw may have been deliberately manipulated so that Judge Koska-Janusz, known for political disputes with the former leadership of the Ministry of Justice, would take the case.