“The minister of justice brought the biggest political troublemakers together in one place”, said Judge Łukasz Piebiak from Lawyers for Poland Association (Stowarzyszenie Prawnicy dla Polski, PdP), commenting on Waldemar Żurek’s widely discussed meeting. In his view, “a situation in which the minister of justice meets with criminals” is shameful.
On Saturday, Paweł Kasprzak of the Citizens of Poland Movement (Obywatele RP) announced on social media that the following day a “consultation meeting” with Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek would take place. The participation of “civic organisations” was announced, which – as explained – were to present their proposals concerning the functioning of the justice system. It turned out that the meeting brought together the full “elite” of activists who once fiercely attacked the government of Law and Justice (PiS).
Present were Mateusz Kijowski, convicted in the invoice scandal and former leader of the Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD), as well as Bartosz Kramek, Stanisława Skłodowska of the Lotna Brygada Opozycji, and the well-known provocateur Katarzyna Augustynek. The meeting was held at the prosecutor’s office headquarters. Today on TV Republika, Judge Łukasz Piebiak of the Lawyers for Poland Association referred to the issue, remarking bitterly that such a conversation should, of course, be held – but not with the minister of justice.
“The minister of justice brought the biggest political troublemakers together in one place. And, to make matters worse, this is the place where the prosecutor’s office has its headquarters”, Piebiak assessed. “I don’t think this building has ever witnessed such an embarrassing event”, he added.
He pointed out that besides troublemakers and individuals with issues involving the services, attorney Szwed of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) also appeared. “This is a serious organisation, while the other people are not serious”, he said.
“These people are, after all, criminals – several of them have convictions. A situation in which the minister of justice meets with criminals… What can one say? Shame!” stated Łukasz Piebiak.
PdP: Context matters
Lawyers for Poland Association (PdP) posted a statement on social media regarding Monday’s meeting at the prosecutor’s office. They stressed that it requires “providing the full context”.
“The meeting took place just after the tour of Waldemar Żurek and Ewa Wrzosek, during which the former announced the launch of actions directed antagonistically against the Polish President Karol Nawrocki. Neither Waldemar Żurek nor Ewa Wrzosek hold any democratic mandate for this type of activity – doing so in the absence of the Prime Minister from the country. Meanwhile, Donald Tusk, travelling in Africa, declared the government’s support for the President,” the Association wrote.
They listed the individuals who attended the meeting.
“The standards of the rule of law do not consist in freely selecting guests but in taking responsibility for whom public institutions are made available to”, they emphasised.