“This was not a procedural ruling, but a political decision disguised as a court ruling,” said former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro after the District Court in Warsaw upheld the pre-trial detention order against him. According to the Law and Justice (PiS) politician, what took place before the court “confirms the political nature of this case.”
“The decision to uphold the pre-trial detention order had already been made before the hearing even began. Today’s proceedings were purely cosmetic and provided concrete examples of abuses and double standards,” Ziobro argued. In a statement, the former justice minister outlined three main objections to the way the proceedings were conducted.
The first concerned the composition of the judicial panel. As he explained, his defense lawyers filed a motion to exclude one of the judges, arguing that she had previously taken part in reviewing the pre-trial detention case of Marcin Romanowski, which – according to the defense – was based on the same evidence and the same allegations. Ziobro pointed out that, in a similar situation, another judge had previously been removed from hearing the case.
“This is therefore not about an impartial assessment of the procedural grounds, but about maintaining a specific judicial panel despite the existence of clear grounds for excluding one of its members. Such a practice raises serious concerns that the composition of the court is being manipulated to achieve a predetermined outcome – namely, a ruling openly expected by the current political authorities. In practice, this means subordinating the guarantee of an impartial court to a politically desirable result. Such actions strike at the very essence of a fair trial and reduce procedural safeguards to a mere illusion,” he stated.
His second objection concerned the judge serving as rapporteur. The Law and Justice (PiS) politician noted that the judge had recently had his secondment to the District Court in Warsaw extended by a decision of Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek. Ziobro referred to Żurek’s public statements about him and pointed out that the Prosecutor General is acting as an auxiliary prosecutor in the proceedings concerning the Justice Fund. Ziobro argued that this creates a conflict of interest and should have been grounds for the judge’s recusal.
“If the decision ordering my detention had been overturned, Minister Żurek could have immediately revoked this judge’s secondment to the District Court. The way Minister Żurek has treated judges who issued rulings contrary to the wishes of the current authorities – including Judge Łubowski – only made such a scenario more likely,” he stressed.
The third group of objections concerned the course of the hearing itself. Ziobro emphasized that the court dismissed all procedural motions and evidentiary requests submitted by the defense. In his view, the time that elapsed between the conclusion of the lengthy hearing and the issuance of the ruling did not allow for a thorough analysis of the arguments presented. He argued that the court’s decision had been made in advance and that the proceedings were merely a formality.
“This was not a procedural ruling, but a political decision disguised as a court ruling,” he declared.
Ziobro also reiterated his position that the proceedings against him are politically motivated. He stated that the allegations brought against him by prosecutors are baseless and fabricated, and constitute an act of political retaliation.
“I am a person facing false, fabricated allegations. I am not asking for any special treatment. I am asking only for the right to a fair trial before an impartial court. Today, that right has once again been taken away from me,” he said.