Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The European Parliament’s President has declared that a motion requesting the suspension of immunity of four Polish MEPs from the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which is in power in Poland, has been relayed to the Committee on Legal Affairs.
At the EP plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday, President Roberta Metsola mentioned the motion related to Tomasz Poręba, Beata Mazurek, Patryk Jaki, and Beata Kempa.
Hence, an indictment by Rafał Gaweł, the founder of the Centre for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behaviour, has led to the motion requesting the suspension of immunity of four Polish MEPs. The indictment is related to a PiS ad which cautions against the migration policy of the Civic Platform (PO), the major political adversary of PiS.
Gaweł accused them of violating Article 256 of the Polish Penal Code, which relates to the incitement of hatred on national, ethnic, racial, or religious grounds, among other things.
In early February, Polish public television reported that Gaweł was a convicted criminal who had committed fraud during the PO’s rule, who had fled the country following his conviction, and who has been wanted by law enforcement ever since.
Poręba, one of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) included in the motion, expressed that “it is profoundly sorrowful that the European Parliament has endorsed a criminal with this motion.”
Moreover, Poręba expressed disapproval of the Polish court for accepting testimony from “a wanted person” and permitting them to be involved in a trial.
“This is proof that the system of justice is politicised today,” Poręba noted.