“The witness came forward today at 8 a.m., following my appearance last night – or my recent appearances. He called the TV Republika hotline and said he wanted to testify. He sent documentation, provided his address, he is an officer of the Polish Armed Forces, and he recounted a truly dramatic story,” said Tomasz Sakiewicz shortly before what was supposed to be the final hearing in his trial with Tomasz Grodzki. The details are now being disclosed.
New witness in the Grodzki case
In July of this year, it was reported that the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin discontinued the investigation concerning Tomasz Grodzki. The case involved a corruption scandal at a Szczecin hospital, which allegedly took place when the current senator from the Civic Platform (PO) was the facility’s director. The matter concerned payments made by patients in need of urgent surgery. The practice was first exposed in Gazeta Polska by journalist Tomasz Duklanowski, who so far remains the only person convicted in connection with the case – Grodzki accused him of defamation.
In October 2023, the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin submitted a request to the Senate of the Republic of Poland to lift Grodzki’s immunity.
“The findings of the investigation indicate that between 2008 and 2019, Tomasz Grodzki directed the actions of other individuals who have already been charged in the case, and instructed them to commit crimes involving extortion of money from patients for surgeries performed within the public healthcare system,”
stated the prosecutor’s office in its statement.
It was reported that testimonies from 236 witnesses had been collected, along with evidence of over PLN 2 million in illicit gains.
Today, TV Republika announced that the son of a patient allegedly operated on by Tomasz Grodzki had come forward to the station. Before performing the surgery, Grodzki was said to have demanded a bribe. The bribe was not paid, and the woman soon died.
This is one of many cases related to the hospital in Szczecin and the foundation established by Tomasz Grodzki. According to journalist Michał Jelonek, the foundation was suspected of embezzling more than PLN 2.3 million between 2008 and 2019. “Marshal Grodzki was supposed to face charges, but after the change of government, the case was buried,” he said.
Tomasz Sakiewicz on the details
Just before the final hearing in the Sakiewicz vs. Grodzki case, the head of the House of Free Word and TV Republika editor-in-chief shared more details about the new witness.
“The court is not yet formally aware of this. The witness came forward today at 8 a.m., following my appearance last night – or my recent appearances. He called the Republika hotline and said he wanted to testify. He sent documentation, provided his address, he is an officer of the Polish Armed Forces, and he recounted a truly dramatic story,”
said Sakiewicz as he waited outside the District Court for Warsaw-Żoliborz.
The head of Republika explained: “Over 20 years ago, his dying mother – a victim of German persecution who had been sent to forced labor in Germany, which ruined her health – was admitted to the hospital in critical condition. She needed to be saved. According to the man, Grodzki demanded ‘a fat envelope’ from him, a Polish Army officer. The man hesitated about what to do. His mother forbade him from giving the bribe, and soon… she died. This is one of the most harrowing stories I have ever heard.”
“We are dealing with an extraordinary situation. The court will now have to decide whether to reopen the hearing, continue as planned, or close it and proceed to final statements. We will soon see how Mr. Grodzki’s legal representatives respond. In the indictment, Grodzki is portrayed as the head of this criminal network, while all other members of the network have stood trial, been prosecuted, and sentenced – or will be – yet his case was buried,”
Sakiewicz continued.
According to Sakiewicz, “we are in a race against time. In a few minutes, the court will have to decide whether to hear this key witness or to review his testimony later – or perhaps the dozens of previous testimonies will suffice. We had already presented the same witnesses who confirmed the corruption allegations against Grodzki to the prosecutor’s office and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA). It’s a completely Hollywood-like situation. We’ll see what happens next. I’m very curious myself. I can’t reveal details from the hearing, but this witness came forward before the session began. He hasn’t yet been questioned, but he wants to be,” he said.
The journalist then showed the medical records of the woman in question.
“This is the medical documentation that has just reached us. It’s the record of a patient who died after refusing to pay a bribe. I intend to submit it to the court shortly,”
he announced.