The verdict was not delivered today. It happened because there are new, significant materials. The whole situation is caused by the actions of the prosecution, which for a very long time hid from the public the reasons behind burying the Grodzki case, said Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska and president of TV Republika, after the hearing at the District Court for Warsaw-Wola.
Tomasz Grodzki filed a lawsuit against Tomasz Sakiewicz for calling him “a common bribe-taker”. The case is related to allegations of corruption in a hospital in Szczecin, where Grodzki served as director. Under Articles 212 and 216 of the Penal Code, defamation and insult can carry a sentence of up to two years in prison.
On October 23, the District Court for Warsaw-Wola was to rule in the case of Tomasz Grodzki versus Tomasz Sakiewicz, but the judge asked journalists and the audience to leave the courtroom, informing them that no verdict would be issued during this session due to the emergence of new evidence.
On October 22, a woman named Marta, the daughter of a patient operated on years ago at the hospital in Zdunowo, came forward to the newsroom of TV Republika. She decided to break her silence and present medical records as well as her late mother’s private notes. These documents shed new light on the corruption allegations against Professor Tomasz Grodzki. Marta has declared her readiness to testify in the case brought by the former Speaker of the Senate against the editor-in-chief of TV Republika, Tomasz Sakiewicz. On October 23, the station reported that three individuals had already come forward, willing to testify regarding the corruption scandal at the Zdunowo hospital.
Sakiewicz: “This is the biggest scandal of the Third Republic of Poland“
Another hearing in this trial took place today.
“It says ‘publication’ on the docket, so I really don’t know what will happen in this case today. From what I’ve heard from court officials, it’s to be postponed because new materials have been submitted,” said Tomasz Sakiewicz on TV Republika.
“The situation is clear – if someone believes it was different from what I described, from what Tomek Duklanowski described, from what hundreds of people have said, then they simply refuse to see and know. We are dealing with one of the biggest scandals in the history of free Poland. A man whom hundreds of people accuse of taking bribes is now sentencing journalists, using the courts and very bad legal provisions. Instead of showing compassion for the people who were wronged, the justice system targets journalists to silence them,” he added.
According to Sakiewicz, the trial is being conducted fairly: “I had the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses.”
“The fact that new ones are appearing is the nature of this case. It involves an unbelievable number of people. If we were to hear from everyone connected to the bribery affair, it would be thousands. It’s impossible to conclude this case having heard them all. For over twenty years, when Mr. Grodzki ruled that place, a whole system of corruption was in operation, and the prosecution denies none of it. (…) We are dealing with the largest bribery scandal of the Third Republic of Poland – not because of the sums involved, but because of the number of people and the unimaginable harm done,” stated the president of TV Republika.
Members of the Gazeta Polska Clubs and the Free Poles movement were present in court.
According to our reporter on site, journalists were not allowed into the courtroom. The verdict was not expected to be delivered today.
Before the hearing began, Jacek Dubois, the lawyer representing Tomasz Grodzki, said that concluding the case would be “his client’s dream.”
“In 2019, five people insulted Mr. Grodzki – one apologized before trial, two apologized as part of a court settlement, one, Mr. Duklanowski, was convicted but the verdict is not final, and I assume that today the court will end this wave of slander by issuing a guilty verdict,” said Dubois.
No verdict
Around 11 a.m., the hearing ended without a verdict. It is expected to be delivered at the next session on November 17, 2025.
“The verdict was not issued today. It happened because there are new, crucial materials. The entire commotion is caused by the actions of the prosecution, which for a long time concealed from the public the reasons for burying the Grodzki case,” said Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska and president of TV Republika, after the hearing.
“They’re hiding it because it’s a wild scandal,” he added, referring to the actions of the Civic Platform (PO) and institutions subordinate to the government.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 17, 2025. The verdict will likely be announced then.
“I have a feeling the verdict will come, because the case may soon become time-barred. In December, it will be six years since my first public statement about the Speaker, and in January, ultimately. I don’t know whether the court of appeal will manage to review the case, but I hope the court will simply recognize the facts,” added Tomasz Sakiewicz.
Another case postponed until 2026
On Tuesday, the District Court in Warsaw held a hearing in a civil lawsuit filed by Tomasz Grodzki against Tomasz Sakiewicz. After hearing witness testimony from Adrian Stankowski, the court scheduled the next session for October 2026.
The only person convicted is… a journalist
So far, the only person convicted in the Zdunowo hospital corruption case is… journalist Tomasz Duklanowski, who reported on the matter on Radio Szczecin and in Gazeta Polska Codziennie.
Grodzki filed a private indictment against him, accusing him of defamation and claiming that the individuals interviewed in the reports had been planted. During the trial, the court found credible the testimony of witness Tadeusz Staszczyk, a former officer of the Stalinist Office of Security (UB).
Duklanowski was sentenced to a fine of 12,000 PLN and an additional 8,000 PLN for charitable purposes.