“Do you have the gift of bilocation? Please explain this matter thoroughly instead of brushing it off,” Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek was asked during today’s press conference. Our journalist questioned Żurek about our recent publication, in which we pointed out that the current head of the ministry in October 2015 allegedly issued rulings in Kraków, Warsaw, and… Kyiv at the same time.
Żurek in Warsaw, Kraków, and Kyiv on the same day?
In October 2015, three rulings of the District Court in Kraków were reportedly issued, but the judge behind them – Żurek – was, at that time, serving as a member of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) and was not only in Warsaw, but also… in Kyiv.
Similarly, in early October 2017, he was, among other places, in Naumburg, Germany, while on October 3rd, a ruling with his participation was issued in Kraków. The portal Niezalezna.pl obtained a damning justification from a court order mandating the initiation of proceedings regarding the circumstances under which several dozen rulings were issued with Waldemar Żurek’s involvement – today the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General.
The Minister of Justice was asked about our publication during today’s press conference.
“A question concerning the situation at the District Court in Kraków in October 2015. According to the court order’s justification, based on the gathered evidence, it was impossible for Judge Żurek to have issued rulings in Kraków while being in Warsaw, Krynica-Zdrój, or Kyiv. This concerns three rulings issued by you,” asked Republika reporter Michał Gwardyński.
Żurek’s convoluted explanation: “The matter was clarified”
The head of the Ministry of Justice responded by stating that “this matter has already been clarified.”
“You are well aware of this. Both Minister Ziobro’s spokespersons and prosecutors had eight years to investigate. So-called dragnet investigations were conducted against me. From a legal standpoint, I consider the matter to be clear. The situation was extremely strange – at the time, they wanted to fabricate a narrative claiming that if Judge Żurek was working at the National Council of the Judiciary that week in Warsaw, he couldn’t possibly have also been in Kraków. I won’t go into details about my family situation at the time, or how many times I went to Kraków after Council meetings ended. You must also understand that civil court judges issue rulings both in open sessions and hearings. Many decisions are made in judges’ offices, and rulings are issued at different times of day,” Żurek said.
He added that “Ms. Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka was questioned in court in Katowice regarding this issue.”
“Everything is in the documents. I could also write that you were somewhere and ask you to prove you weren’t. In Poland, our legal system requires proof of guilt, not that the innocent must prove their innocence. That applies to judges as well,” he emphasized.
Then Tomasz Grodecki, a journalist from Niezalezna.pl, reminded Żurek that the Internal Affairs Division of the National Prosecutor’s Office is still investigating the case.
“Do you have the gift of bilocation? Please explain this matter thoroughly instead of brushing it off. You are the Prosecutor General, and this case is still ongoing at the Internal Affairs Division by court order,” our journalist asked.
Żurek responded that “according to the documents I reviewed – and please note that in many cases, the judicial panels consisted of several judges – no disciplinary procedures were initiated by the spokespersons, nor were they continued against the individuals who served with me.”
“None of those individuals were charged either. The question is: why didn’t the spokesperson find any fault with over a dozen people, but did find fault with my actions? As for my business trip – if you check the documents on when I returned from Kyiv and the date of the ruling – we’ll meet at the next press conference. We’ll show you the documents and the relevant dates,” he declared.