Telewizja Republika President Tomasz Sakiewicz has posted bail for Leszek Kraskowski, enabling the investigative journalist’s release from custody today. Although Kraskowski has left pre-trial detention, he remains subject to a number of non-custodial preventive measures.
Investigative journalist Leszek Kraskowski was arrested on Saturday, June 6. After spending 27 days in custody, he was released following the payment of bail to the prosecutor’s office by the head of Telewizja Republika.
The prosecutor’s office imposed several preventive measures in place of detention, including bail of PLN 25,000, police supervision, a prohibition on contacting witnesses in the case, a restraining order preventing contact with the alleged victim—identified by the editors as Kraskowski’s wife—as well as a ban on leaving Poland combined with the confiscation of his passport.
According to the prosecutor’s office, investigators themselves have now expressed doubts regarding the allegation that Kraskowski was responsible for sending threatening messages.
“The findings made thus far regarding the circumstances surrounding the email containing threats against the District Police Commander in Piaseczno have undermined the premise of a high probability that Leszek K. committed this offence. Alongside the investigative theory identifying the suspect as the perpetrator of the criminal threats, it is currently impossible to rule out the alternative possibility that the offence was committed by another person or persons. The physical evidence secured to date does not currently allow for the categorical attribution of this offence solely to Leszek K., nor to the individuals identified by the defence.”
The statement was issued by the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Kraskowski faces charges of making criminal threats and illegally possessing a firearm. On June 9, the District Court in Piaseczno, acting on the prosecutor’s request, ordered his three-month pre-trial detention. Kraskowski is known for his investigative reporting on the Polnord scandal.
The proceedings have raised questions, including the fact that Kraskowski’s defence lawyer was absent from the detention hearing after allegedly receiving notice of the hearing too late. The case has also been accompanied by other controversies and inconsistencies.