“They are using the prosecution service to produce a political image of a Law and Justice (PiS) politician in handcuffs,” said European Parliament member Maciej Wąsik on the X platform, commenting on the attempt by Waldemar Żurek to lift the immunity of Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Patryk Jaki. The Prosecutor General has submitted the request to the European Parliament.
On Tuesday, the prosecution service announced that Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek had filed a motion to lift the immunity of Law and Justice (PiS) MEP Patryk Jaki. The Minister of Justice also wants to obtain consent for the detention and forced appearance of the opposition politician.
The prosecution accuses Jaki of abuse of power and failure to fulfil his duties. The case concerns the Prison Service, which he supervised as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Justice, and the “signing of administrative decisions and rulings” related to the service.
Handcuffs are not enough
Żurek’s decision triggered a wave of comments. Representatives of Law and Justice (PiS) accuse him of using law enforcement agencies to persecute the opposition.
“Patryk Jaki is to be charged with ordering someone to be promoted. What is more, he is to be DETAINED in this case. They are using the prosecution service to produce a political image of a Law and Justice (PiS) politician in handcuffs. This is a brutal game that will end badly. For Tusk and Żurek,” said European Parliament member Maciej Wąsik.
“Żurek is once again playing political games. The motion to lift the immunity of MEP Patryk Jaki is another attempt to deprive opposition politicians of their basic right to defence. The prosecution service is a state institution, not the private fiefdom of Żurek, Giertych and Tusk,” said MP Marek Wesoły.
“Criminals dressed in robes want to arrest another politician of the former Sovereign Poland – Patryk Jaki? For what? For personnel decisions regarding promotions. You people in the prosecution service should start thinking about what will happen in 2027 for all of Korneluk’s decisions. Handcuffs will not be enough,” wrote MP Dariusz Matecki.
The ball for the opposition
Attorney Bartosz Lewandowski also commented on the prosecution service’s statement. “It is the result of the ‘accountability drive’ and the so-called militant democracy in its declining phase,” the lawyer said.
“Although Patryk Jaki did not steal anything, was not corrupt, did not misappropriate anything, he allegedly ordered someone to be promoted in the Prison Service, and according to the prosecution this constitutes a crime,” he pointed out.
In his view, Żurek’s move is “a brilliantly set-up pass for the opposition in the European Parliament, to show how things function in Poland,” he said.
“If such a case leads to the detention and forced appearance of an MP, it will completely break the scale of embarrassment,” he concluded.
The case was also commented on by former head of the National Council of the Judiciary Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka. “No court will agree to pre-trial detention on such a formulated charge as in the case of MP Patryk Jaki, but a spectacle involving detention may happen,” she assessed.
“By submitting this motion to the European Parliament, the prosecution wants to prove to everyone and to each individual that there is terror in Poland. Extremely foolish,” she added.