The National Public Prosecutor’s Office has discontinued an investigation into alleged abuse of power and unlawful deprivation of liberty involving MP Marcin Romanowski during his arrest in July 2024. The decision was taken despite earlier court rulings that found the detention to be illegal. The move has drawn sharp criticism from Sebastian Kaleta. “Another case, blatantly twisted by Tusk’s prosecution service, has been added to the list of matters that will be settled in the future,” he wrote.
Discontinuation Despite a Finding of Illegality
As reported by the National Public Prosecutor’s Office, on January 8, 2026, a prosecutor from the Internal Affairs Department issued a decision to discontinue the investigation into the alleged abuse of authority by public officials through the unlawful deprivation of Marcin Romanowski’s liberty. The stated reason was a “lack of the elements of a criminal offense.”
The proceedings concerned the detention of the MP on July 15, 2024, in an investigation related to the Justice Fund. Romanowski—then an MP and a deputy member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe—was detained by the Internal Security Agency (ABW) on the basis of a prosecutorial decision, following the Sejm’s earlier lifting of his domestic parliamentary immunity.
Dispute Over Council of Europe Immunity
A key issue in the case was the scope of the immunity Romanowski enjoyed by virtue of his role in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Prosecutors argued that this immunity did not apply because the alleged acts were unrelated to the performance of that function.
The courts disagreed. The District Court for Warsaw–Mokotów, followed by the Regional Court in Warsaw, ruled that on the day of the detention Romanowski was protected by international immunity that could not be lifted by the Polish Sejm. The detention was therefore deemed illegal.
Prosecutors: No Intent, No Crime
Despite the courts’ assessment, the National Public Prosecutor’s Office concluded that no crime had occurred. In an extensive justification, it stated that public officials—including prosecutors—acted within their powers after conducting their own legal analysis. According to the prosecution, they could not be attributed with intentional abuse of authority or intent to unlawfully deprive someone of liberty.
It was also emphasized that the case was unprecedented and that there were no clear-cut regulations regarding the immunity of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe—circumstances which, in the investigators’ view, preclude criminal liability.
“This Case Will Be Settled”
Sebastian Kaleta strongly criticized the decision, recalling that the courts had unequivocally found the MP’s detention to be illegal.
“Do you remember the case of the unlawful detention of MP Marcin Romanowski, despite the fact that he held valid Council of Europe immunity? Well, in the near future no one will be held accountable for it,” Kaleta wrote.
He added that, in his view, this is yet another case “crudely twisted by Tusk’s prosecution service,” which—he warns—will be placed on the list of matters to be reckoned with in the future.