Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro strongly commented on the case of journalist Leszek Kraskowski, who was released from detention after nearly a month, during an appearance on TV Republika. He described the case as “a gigantic scandal and an abuse of power” and thanked TV Republika CEO Tomasz Sakiewicz.
Ziobro began by thanking TV Republika CEO Tomasz Sakiewicz, who posted bail for Kraskowski. He also criticized other media outlets.
“I would like to begin by thanking Editor Sakiewicz, who once again rose to the occasion and did what the overwhelming majority of mainstream media failed to do. They constantly speak about press freedom, but when the real test came, they failed and disgraced themselves,” he said.
The former justice minister gave an exceptionally harsh assessment of the entire case.
“What happened to Editor Kraskowski is a gigantic scandal and an abuse of power. This case will find its way into legal textbooks, where law students will learn how abuses were committed during Donald Tusk’s time in office,” Ziobro stated.
He added that, in his opinion, the journalist had fallen victim to a provocation.
“Kraskowski did an outstanding piece of investigative journalism. He exposed the inner workings of a massive theft. They were looking for a pretext, and they created one,” he said.
Ziobro also referred to the email that served as the basis for the journalist’s arrest, questioning its evidentiary value.
“An email of this kind, sent from an anonymous account by someone who signed it with Editor Kraskowski’s name, is not evidence of anything. It could just as easily have been signed with Donald Tusk’s name,” he argued.
In his view, the arrest was directly connected to Kraskowski’s journalistic work.
“They were looking for a pretext to imprison a distinguished journalist on the basis of such a provocative email,” he said, adding an ironic remark directed at the prime minister.
For the sake of completeness, it is worth recalling the key facts. Leszek Kraskowski was arrested on June 6, and the District Court in Piaseczno ordered his pre-trial detention for three months. On July 3, the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office revoked the detention order, replacing it with bail, police supervision, a restraining order prohibiting contact with the alleged victim, and a ban on leaving the country. Importantly, prosecutors revised their assessment of one aspect of the case, concluding that the evidence gathered so far regarding the email containing threats against the Piaseczno police commander no longer supports a high probability that Kraskowski was its author.