Women were tortured and deprived of dignity. A priest was arrested on Maundy Thursday, the feast of the institution of priesthood. Both the choice of victims and the revival of Stalinist methods, and finally, the list of judges, prosecutors, and officials involved in this operation, allow us to draw conclusions from what happened. Under the Law and Justice Party’s (PiS) rule, for the first time since 1943, when the current judicial system was established in the Soviet Union, its influence has been disrupted. They are taking revenge according to decades-old patterns because they know nothing else. And they fear the same. Keeping a letter with a painted icon of the Prison Madonna by their victim for a month says as much about them as the torture itself, writes Piotr Lisiewicz in “Gazeta Polska.”
Father Tadeusz Magas was celebrating mass at 7 a.m. on December 13, 1981. He announced to the faithful that martial law had been imposed. And he said that instead of a sermon, a supplication would be sung on their knees. After mass, older parishioners approached him, remembering that when Germany invaded Poland, they did exactly the same. In July 2024, the legendary priest, a colleague of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, appeared outside the PO headquarters in Poznań.
And again he intoned: “From plague, famine, fire, and war, deliver us, Lord.”
“I feel responsible for this, there is a priest who is imprisoned, who is humiliated. We must show solidarity with him, tell him: we are with you. And to all those gentlemen and ladies who manage this, tell them they are disgraced. I thought that since they had been to Brussels, they would have learned something. But they learned nothing,” the legendary priest told “Gazeta Polska.” He also recalled how after December 13, 1981, he decided to defend the wronged. At 4 a.m., Bożena, the wife of future professor Stanisław Mikołajczak, knocked on his window:
“A crying, trembling girl said: They arrested Staszek. They came, and took him like a bandit, like a criminal, in front of the children. The children woke up and watched as their father, a decent man, was led away.”
Planned Cruelty in Front of Children
A shocking letter from Urszula, an official tortured in detention, describes a similar scenario:
“I was detained by ABW with several officers who entered my home on March 26, 2024, and in front of my awakened child, in an atmosphere of shouting and aggression, handcuffed me. Moments earlier—making noise on the entire street—ABW tried to break down the door, even though I was shouting not to because I was coming to open it. When I asked why the operation was being conducted so aggressively, given that I was not obstructing and posed no threat, an officer openly told me that they would also prefer not to do it this way, but they received orders during a briefing the day before.”
Thus began her ordeal. In her letter, she recounted how she was treated after being taken by ABW to the pit, i.e., the Police Detention Room:
“There, I was treated quite brutally. All my things were taken away—even my sweater—although it was cold. While using the toilet, I was supervised by male officers through a window in the door. Some directly watched me as I took care of my physiological needs. Similarly, when I showered. It was humiliating.”
She also wrote that sometimes she had to wait a long time to visit the toilet, and she had a bladder condition. “When I felt nauseous and asked to leave the cell to vomit, the policeman said: ‘You can’t now, throw up on the floor,’” she wrote. Additionally, according to her letter, to further intimidate her, the mortgage on her house and apartment was seized. She added that she had “no doubt that her situation could only change if she incriminated her former superiors, and no substantive argumentation was considered.”
The Prison Madonna Arrested for a Month
For a month, the woman was not allowed to contact her immediate family (husband and child), and her requests for clean clothes and underwear were ignored. The portal niezalezna.pl obtained a letter sent by Urszula’s father, Andrzej Skrzetuski. “The icon of the Prison Madonna, drawn for Mother’s Day by my daughter Urszula, who was arrested along with Father Olszewski and her colleague Karolina for alleged irregularities in granting subsidies to the ‘Profeto’ foundation to build a centre for crime victims. Meanwhile, everything was done according to the law, and the centre is almost ready,” wrote the father of the arrested official.
Sending the drawing of the Prison Madonna was dangerous for the authorities because it restored her human dignity. People who heard that some anonymous official had allegedly committed crimes suddenly realized it was someone with feelings. This was after the account of Father Olszewski was revealed, so inappropriate questions could arise in people’s minds.
The father’s letter continued:
“My daughter informs me that prosecutor Bodnar’s actions bear the traits of psychological and physical abuse, similar to what happened with Father Olszewski. Therefore, we demand the release of both Father Olszewski and the ladies—Urszula and Karolina.”
Let the Priest Pee in the Bottle
Father Olszewski’s letter was the first. After that, Poles in many cities took to the streets, giving hope to the intimidated and tortured women. Father Michał wrote: “I was taken to the pit. From 6 a.m., throughout the day (even during physiological activities), I was handcuffed. The handcuffs were never removed. I was told that at this time there was neither dinner nor water. I begged for half a bottle of tap water and brought in a bottle that was in the cell. In the morning, when I asked to be taken to the toilet, I was told: ‘Pee in it.’”
“When I returned to the cell, I cleaned it after the previous occupant and collapsed as if dead. After a short while, the light suddenly turned on. It turned out I was under ‘special supervision.’ Hence the camera, handcuffs, even when going to the yard, isolation from others (…), waking up with light throughout the night, every hour! That was for the first two weeks.”
Totally Disgraced Prosecutor
Who is handling the case? As we reported, it is Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak, who supervised the case of Piotr “Staruch” Staruchowicz, a Legia Warsaw fan called Donald Tusk’s personal prisoner, years ago. Today, he is again dealing with the prime minister’s opponents. Recall that “Staruch” was acquitted, and the crown witness’s testimony, believed by Prosecutor Woźniak, was utterly unreliable. And that was confirmed by media across the board. “Prosecutor’s disgrace! Staruch innocent!” assessed Woźniak’s work “Super Express.” “So the guy was in jail for innocence. Who will give him back his life? And is the crown witness still that credible?” asked Krzysztof Stanowski. Even Janusz Schwertner from Onet later wrote about the slanders against Haniora, referring to the cases of Maciek Dobrowolski and Piotr Staruchowicz in the article “Who Stole the Lives of Legia’s Bad Boys.”
On January 30, 2024, Attorney General Adam Bodnar appointed an investigative team that again deals with Tusk’s opponents, this time those from the Justice Fund under Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. It includes Prosecutor Piotr Woźniak. And again, a small crown witness appears in the case. – Prosecutor Woźniak is the main author of both investigations, although the team is formally led by Prosecutor Marzena Kowalska, our informant claimed.
Judges: If Not Tusk’s Minister, Then Iustitia
The list of judges handling Father Michał Olszewski’s case is staggering. The number of “coincidences” is at least impressive.
On April 30, Judge Piotr Kluz, former deputy minister of justice in the PO-PSL government, rejected Father Olszewski’s appeal against his detention. He found no reason to recuse himself due to a lack of objectivity. “I do not see the possibility of formulating a charge of lack of impartiality on the part of the judge based on this argumentation. We are talking about a deputy minister in the government, but this fact must be linked with some circumstances indicating that the judge may be biased. I do not see such elements,” Prosecutor Woźniak defended Kluz.
On June 20, Judge Anna Kuzaj from Iustitia decided to extend Father Olszewski’s detention by three months. As a representative of the association fighting against Ziobro’s reforms, she also found no reason to recuse herself from adjudicating.
On July 18, the Warsaw Court of Appeal will consider another defence appeal against the decision to extend Father Olszewski’s detention. The case will be handled by Judge Ewa Leszczyńska-Furtak, “Gazeta Polska Codziennie” has learned. The judge returned to the criminal division last fall.
Previously, she was punitively transferred to the labour division because she overturned the decisions of judges appointed by the new National Council of the Judiciary formed in 2018 and refused to adjudicate with them. Until the closure of this edition of “GP,” she also found no reason to recuse herself from the proceedings.