The District Court for Warsaw-Wola delivered today, at first instance, a verdict in the criminal case that has been ongoing for over six years, brought by the former Marshal of the Senate, Tomasz Grodzki, against the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska, Tomasz Sakiewicz. The journalist was acquitted of all charges. The costs of the proceedings were assigned to the complaining party. The reasoning of the verdict has been classified.
Representatives of the Gazeta Polska Clubs and patriotic groups appeared in large numbers at the Wola court.
“These are times, once again, when judges can demonstrate their independence. The case is obvious: a man who hides behind his parliamentary immunity attacks those who revealed the truth,”
said Adam Borowski from the Warsaw GP Club, who was present in court.
“I regret nothing”
At the beginning of the hearing, the court allowed only the parties’ representatives into the courtroom.
“The closing arguments were repeated. I believe the evidence is strong enough that I proved what I said,”
Sakiewicz told journalists after leaving the courtroom around 11:00 a.m.
President Sakiewicz emphasized in an interview with TV Republika that “we did what we could”.
“Dozens of witnesses, a great number of documents confirming what I said. Unfortunately, I cannot speak about the details, because at Marshal Grodzki’s request the case is classified,” he said before the verdict was announced.
“If they want to have a convicted journalist in a situation where dozens of people publicly before courts and prosecutors say they gave him (Grodzki – ed.) a bribe, they will have one. If they do not want such a shock, then I expect a fair ruling. (…) I am absolutely certain of what I said. I regret nothing. We had the duty to stand in defense of those dozens of wronged people. Because those who were denied help were wronged – because they did not give a bribe, because they could not afford it, or had moral objections; but also those who were broken were wronged,”
Sakiewicz added.
He recalled the testimonies of witnesses who said they gave a bribe for the first time because their loved ones were dying.
6 years of proceedings
The former Marshal of the Senate brought a lawsuit against the editor-in-chief of GP in 2019 for calling him “a common bribe-taker”. The case is connected to allegations of corruption at a hospital in Szczecin, where Grodzki served as director. For defamation and insult under Articles 212 and 216 of the Criminal Code, the penalty may be up to two years in prison. The trial has already lasted six years and twice was close to a verdict, but new witnesses kept coming forward, willing to testify.
On 23 October, the court was expected to rule on the case, but the judge asked journalists and the public to leave the courtroom, explaining that no verdict would be issued due to the appearance of new evidence.
“The verdict was not delivered today. It happened because new, significant materials appeared. The entire commotion is caused by the actions of the prosecution, which for a very long time concealed from the public the reasons for shelving Grodzki’s case,” said at the time Tomasz Sakiewicz, editor-in-chief of Gazeta Polska and president of TV Republika.
The case may become time-barred in December.
A parallel civil case brought by Grodzki against Sakiewicz is ongoing before the District Court in Warsaw.