Journalist Cezary Gmyz from Telewizja Republika revealed on platform X that former judge Wojciech Łączewski has been non-finally sentenced to community service for making criminal threats against his wife. “He threatened her life and health […] in text messages sent to her,” reads the penal order issued by the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów.
Łączewski is known for his attacks on representatives of the previous government. In an interview with Gazeta Wyborczain 2020, he claimed to know the content of a conversation that took place during the flight to Smolensk between the late Lech Kaczyński and his brother, Jarosław Kaczyński. The alleged conversation was said to incriminate the leader of Law and Justice. This purported exchange was repeatedly used by his political opponents, who argued that the party leader had instructed his brother to pressure the pilots to land in Smolensk.
Earlier, in 2016, media reported that Łączewski—known for issuing a harsh sentence against Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik—had engaged in conversations on Twitter with an account impersonating Tomasz Lis. He was said to have proposed cooperation on a strategy against the then PiS government. Łączewski initially denied the contacts and reported the matter to the prosecutor’s office as a provocation. However, actions taken by the disciplinary spokesman and prosecutors led to disciplinary issues and ultimately his resignation from office in 2019.
As it has now emerged, several years later the former judge himself has run into serious legal trouble.
“Former judge Wojciech Łączewski convicted for criminal threats against his wife. The verdict is not final,” wrote Cezary Gmyz from Telewizja Republika.
8 months of restricted liberty
According to the ruling, between October 8 and October 31, 2023, Łączewski—“in short intervals and with prior intent”—threatened to deprive his wife of life and health in iMessage texts and during phone calls. He also spoke, among others, with Wojciech Czuchnowski from Gazeta Wyborcza.
The court noted that “due to the manner and circumstances in which the threats were made, they caused a justified fear in the victim […] and in the persons to whom they were directed that they would be carried out.”
Łączewski was sentenced to 8 months of restricted liberty, consisting of the obligation to perform unpaid, supervised community service for 20 hours per month. The court also ordered him to pay over 5,300 PLN in legal costs.