“In the next step, will they start cutting journalists’ heads off? It’s something we really need to think about. Marshal Tomasz Grodzki may not like us, but he is obliged to cooperate with us. Instead of doing that, the Marshal threatens us with 20 years in prison,” said TV Republika journalist Adrian Stankowski in an interview with Niezależna.pl. The journalist was questioned today as a witness in the civil trial that Tomasz Grodzki brought against Tomasz Sakiewicz for calling him “a common bribe-taker.”
Another hearing in the Grodzki–Sakiewicz case
Another hearing in the civil case initiated by Senator Tomasz Grodzki against TV Republika’s editor-in-chief, Tomasz Sakiewicz, took place today at the District Court in Warsaw. The senator sued the station’s president for calling him “a common bribe-taker.” Details of the hearing were described in an earlier article: The court will hear more witnesses next year: “All the patients knew how much to give to whom.”
After the session ended, we asked Adrian Stankowski for a comment.
“This hearing reminded everyone of all the facts connected with Marshal Tomasz Grodzki and of the very sad state of affairs in which the full power of the Polish state is being used to punish journalists,” said Stankowski.
He recalled that “it is journalists’ duty to carry out press criticism.” He added, “This is a necessary risk in a democratic society if it is to remain healthy. The point is to prevent such matters from being hidden from public opinion. The situation in which Marshal Tomasz Grodzki uses his position to delay for a long time the vote on lifting his immunity, while at the same time journalists are being convicted in criminal proceedings, shows a deep civilizational regression in Poland. It’s simply a disgrace. It’s frightening to think what will come next,” he assessed.
He also added that, in his view, “if journalists can be intimidated by the use of criminal law, that’s already a Russian reality.”
“In the next step, will they start cutting journalists’ heads off? It’s something we really need to think about. Marshal Tomasz Grodzki may not like us, but he is obliged to cooperate with us. Instead of doing that, the Marshal threatens us with 20 years in prison. Apparently, we were supposed to be overthrowing constitutional organs. He brought in a man from the Office of Security who claimed that money was offered for witness testimony. Did we bribe 200 witnesses? Press criticism is a condition of a healthy society. I feel that this balance has now been severely disrupted,” he said.
When asked about the course of the hearing, Stankowski said: “Counsel for Tomasz Grodzki tried to ask me whether I had interviewed all of Dr. Grodzki’s patients. We have no such obligation, and it’s impossible – it reduces the matter to absurdity. I know that we verified the witnesses who came to us very thoroughly. Their accounts were consistent. Contrary to what some people think, journalists have a basic duty – verification.”
Adam Borowski, head of the Warsaw branch of the Gazeta Polska Club, also commented, saying that “for him, the matter is obvious.” In his view, Grodzki’s actions amount to “defense through attack.”
“Only in totalitarian countries like Russia or Belarus can journalists be silenced. In a democratic country like Poland, that won’t work. Journalists are not particularly cowardly. When attacked, they are motivated to dig even deeper into the case. I’m surprised that Mr. Grodzki chose what I consider a suicidal move. Attacking journalists is the last thing that should ever happen,” he said.
He also recalled the case of a senator from years ago.
“Many years ago, a man named Gawronik became a senator. He already faced criminal charges, yet voters elected him to the Senate. It was hard to understand, but sometimes people don’t act rationally. When Mr. Gawronik ceased to be a senator and lost his immunity, he went to prison for eight years. The same thing could happen here. Mr. Grodzki is hiding for another term behind his immunity, but one day he will have to answer for what happened at the hospital in Szczecin. I hope justice eventually catches up with every criminal,” he concluded.