President Andrzej Duda has taken the initiative to appeal to Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar for the release of two convicted MPs, Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik, while the legal proceedings for their presidential pardon are underway.
The meeting between President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk took place at the Presidential Palace on Monday, where Duda made a “personal appeal” to Tusk, requesting his influence on Justice Minister Adam Bodnar in the case of Kaminski and Wasik. Both politicians, affiliated with the Law and Justice (PiS) party, were initially sentenced in 2015 for abuse of power during their tenure at the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA). However, President Duda pardoned them.
The case was re-evaluated in December 2023, resulting in a renewed two-year prison sentence for Kaminski and Wasik. Despite President Duda announcing the act of clemency proceedings on Thursday, the politicians remain in detention while the legal proceedings for their pardon are ongoing.
During the meeting with the prime minister, President Duda emphasized his request for the release of Kaminski and Wasik, stating, “I have appealed to the prime minister to ensure that the Minister of Justice-Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar complies with the request I made to him.” Duda expressed his expectation that, considering the ongoing pardon proceedings, the two politicians should be released from prison for the duration of these actions.
Duda underscored that there is an ongoing legal dispute surrounding the situation of the two politicians, and he believes that there are still possible actions to be implemented by the courts. The president is seeking the cooperation of the prime minister and justice minister to facilitate the release of Kaminski and Wasik during the ongoing legal processes.