The Speaker was compelled to call for a brief recess due to chants from opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) demanding the release of their imprisoned colleagues.
The upheaval followed a speech by Mariusz Blaszczak, the leader of Law and Justice (PiS), the primary opposition party, who advocated for the parliamentary participation of PiS politicians Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik. The call was met with disruptions from PiS MPs, who chanted “Free the MPs,” prompting Sejm Speaker Szymon Holownia to declare a 10-minute break after multiple attempts to restore order proved futile.
During the recess, PiS MPs expressed their discontent by singing the Polish national anthem and chanting slogans against communism.
The imprisoned politicians, Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik, both former officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for abuse of power on December 20 of the previous year. The Sejm speaker initially revoked their parliamentary mandates, a decision later overturned by the Supreme Court’s Chamber of Extraordinary Control.