Supreme Court judge Maria Szczepaniec is facing repression for a question addressed to Minister Adam Bodnar. As reported by Niezalezna.pl, on the very day the Supreme Court held a session concerning the validity of the presidential election, she received a summons from the National Prosecutor’s Office. The interrogation took place yesterday.
“It was four hours of brutal, oppressive attacks,” Judge Szczepaniec told Niezalezna.pl. “I’m a lawyer, and I can handle situations like this, but the way the questioning was conducted deeply disturbed me. Now I understand what Barbara Skrzypek must have felt.”
Szczepaniec to Bodnar: “Do You Consider Yourself a Neo-Senator?”
On July 1, 2025, the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court held a hearing to rule on the validity of the presidential election.
During the session, Supreme Court judge Maria Szczepaniec addressed a question to the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, Adam Bodnar, who was present in the courtroom:
“Mr. Prosecutor General, in the 2023 parliamentary elections, you obtained a Senate seat. I would remind you that it was our chamber that certified the validity of that election. In connection with this, I would like to ask: Do you consider yourself improperly elected-a so-called ‘neo-senator’?”
She added that after the results of that election were announced and he became a member of parliament, he did not protest:
“At that time, you didn’t raise any objections-I don’t recall you doing so,” she concluded.
Her remarks were met with applause in the courtroom, and the video quickly spread across media platforms.
Summons for Interrogation
The response came almost immediately. On July 1-the same day-the National Prosecutor’s Office sent a summons for interrogation to Judge Maria Szczepaniec.
“That’s why I see this as a form of repression. A retaliation for what I said to Minister Bodnar during a public session on the validity of the elections,” said Judge Szczepaniec in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.
The case concerns an unusual investigation launched by the Internal Affairs Division of the National Prosecutor’s Office, based on a complaint filed by Judge Waldemar Żurek. Judge Szczepaniec had presided over a case involving Żurek, who claimed that she impersonated a Supreme Court judge-an alleged violation of Article 227 of the Penal Code (unlawful assumption of a public function).
“The allegation is absurd,” Szczepaniec stated.
Four Hours!
As we’ve learned, the interrogation of Judge Szczepaniec took place yesterday. She was questioned as a witness-for four hours-with the participation of a prosecutor and two legal representatives of Żurek.
“It was four hours of brutal, oppressive attacks,” emphasized Judge Szczepaniec, who is unable to disclose the questions asked or the details of the case. However, she has no doubt that basic principles of witness interrogation were violated.
“For example, I wasn’t given the opportunity to speak freely, as guaranteed by Article 171 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and my answers were repeatedly commented on by the prosecutor,” she said.
“I’m a lawyer, a former attorney, and for nearly seven years a judge of the Supreme Court. Of course I can manage in such situations, but I was deeply shaken by the way the interrogation was conducted. Now I know how Barbara Skrzypek must have felt,” she concluded.
Revenge?
Judge Szczepaniec is convinced that both the timing of the summons and the nature of the questioning were a form of retaliation for her remarks addressed to Adam Bodnar.
“This is how a Supreme Court judge is treated in a democratic state governed by the rule of law-treated in a way that defies all standards,”
she emphasized.
According to our findings, yesterday’s interrogation was not the last in this case.