Mariusz Kaminski, Poland’s former Interior Minister who faced imprisonment declared his intention to return to the parliament following presidential pardon. This statement comes in the wake of Kaminski’s release from prison, where he and his former deputy, Maciej Wasik, had been serving sentences since December 2023.
Kaminski and Wasik, who previously led the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, were each sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of power. Their incarceration, however, was cut short this week when they were pardoned by the President of Poland. The pardon also brought an end to a hunger strike the two were conducting in custody.
In a direct challenge to the authority of Szymon Holownia, the Speaker of the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish Parliament), Kaminski announced plans to make a parliamentary appearance. “We will certainly appear in the Sejm in the coming days, but on our terms, not Szymon Holownia’s,” Kaminski stated during an interview with the wpolsce.pl website. He emphasized the intention to re-enter the parliamentary scene in a “planned, very precise way.”
The move by Kaminski and Wasik defies Holownia’s assertion that the duo cannot reclaim their parliamentary seats. The Speaker argues that their convictions effectively nullified their mandates. However, Kaminski counters this view, referencing a Supreme Court verdict that supports their continued status as Members of Parliament (MPs). He asserts that any efforts to strip them of their parliamentary rights are unlawful.