“All these detention decisions, so-called extraction detentions, as it turns out, were based on crude, political persecution and on courts which, having been illegally taken over, were manipulated, leading to criminality with a political motive. And judicial criminality, which must be stated clearly,” said Marcin Romanowski, former Deputy Minister of Justice, on the air of TV Republika, commenting on Friday’s reasoning of the Warsaw Regional Court.
On Friday, attorney Bartosz Lewandowski announced that the court had revoked the European Arrest Warrant issued against Marcin Romanowski.
In the written reasoning, Judge Dariusz Łubowski shared attorney Lewandowski’s view that the entire case involved political pressure.
“This is unlawful proceedings, as they violate the most fundamental human rights of all accused persons, namely the presumption of innocence. These are actions that devastate the image of the Polish justice system domestically and, in this case, most importantly, also on the international stage,”
reads an excerpt from the reasoning.
Judge Łubowski also emphasized that “the situation currently prevailing in the Polish state can be classified as a crypto-dictatorship.”
When the reasoning entered the public sphere, the judge quickly became the target of political attacks from supporters of the so-called December 13 coalition. Moreover, the Minister of Justice himself, Waldemar Żurek, announced that the application for a European Arrest Warrant would be resubmitted and criticized the judge’s decision in the Romanowski case.
What is more, Żurek threatened that if the renewed application were again assigned to Judge Łubowski, the prosecution would seek his exclusion from the case. Why? “Because the decision was not objective.” Or rather, because it did not align with the expectations of those in power.
In the Background – the Ziobro Case
At the same time, it is worth remembering that the coalition led by Donald Tusk is trying to do everything possible to ensure that the former Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, ends up in prison. Recalling the chronology of events: on November 7 of this year, the Sejm lifted Ziobro’s immunity and consented to his detention and possible arrest. Just a few hours later, a prosecutor issued a decision presenting Ziobro with 26 charges related to the Justice Fund. Subsequently, in mid-November, the prosecution filed a motion with the Warsaw-Mokotów District Court seeking Ziobro’s detention for three months – the court hearing in this matter is scheduled for December 22, that is, this coming Monday.
Romanowski: This Is a Scandal
A guest on TV Republika’s evening program was Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Romanowski, who once again commented on Judge Łubowski’s ruling as well as Żurek’s announcements in this matter.
“Above all, this undermines the entire narrative related to the Justice Fund that was pursued by the prosecution, by politicians of the December 13 coalition, and by pro-government media. That narrative struck at me, but above all, it struck at all those who suffered the most in connection with the Fund – Urszula, Karolina, Father Michał. All these detention decisions, extraction detentions, as it turns out, were based on crude, political persecution and on courts which, having been illegally taken over, were manipulated, leading to criminality with a political motive. And judicial criminality, which must be stated clearly,”
the politician assessed.
He added: “Now, shortly, we will have a similar attempt carried out – also an unlawful detention – against Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.”
Asked whether the court’s reasoning constitutes a kind of signal to the December 13 coalition, he replied: “Yes, indeed – the court described those statements [about transporting opposition politicians in car trunks – ed.] in an appropriate manner, because it is a scandal for representatives of the executive power, an incumbent minister of justice, or earlier a prime minister, to speak in such a way.”
“Above all, however, it shows the entire narrative conducted in the media, particularly the pro-government ones, which kept repeating these lies about the Justice Fund – deliberately manufactured by an illegal prosecution, deliberately implemented by illegally taken-over courts, where adjudicating panels were being fixed, because manipulation and purges were taking place in the judiciary. This is precisely the construction of lawfare – that persecution of political opponents, ordinary officials, using the entire state apparatus: the prosecution, the courts, but also the media,”
Romanowski continued.
The politician also referred to Żurek’s announcement regarding the exclusion of the judge should the prosecution’s renewed application again be assigned to him.
“There is no doubt that they are capable of anything. They illegally removed the National Prosecutor, removed court presidents – in violation of the law and in defiance of Constitutional Tribunal rulings. Above all, this is an absurd and unprofessional remark. You cannot exclude a judge because of the content of a ruling he issued. This is the ‘ABC’ of a lawyer’s work. But one cannot expect too much in terms of professionalism and respect for the law from this gentleman. This will merely be another confirmation that we are dealing with a ‘crypto-dictatorship,’ with lawlessness that is unprecedented in civilized states. This is also a quotation from Friday’s court ruling,”
he pointed out.
“The Ruling Destroys This Narrative”
The former Deputy Minister of Justice was also asked about the detention hearing concerning Zbigniew Ziobro, scheduled to take place just before Christmas. In his view, “under normal conditions, this case would not exist at all. But that is precisely why the prosecution and the courts were taken over – to carry it out.”
“I think that, unfortunately, if those in power – the Tusk government – came forward with this initiative, they probably did not do so blindly, but already had everything arranged. Of course, this ruling completely destroys that entire narrative. It exposes its falsehoods and lawlessness. By revealing Interpol’s reasoning and pointing to the motives behind the asylum decision, it shows that the charges against Zbigniew Ziobro are practically the same as those against me. So all the arguments presented in Friday’s court decision absolutely apply both to Zbigniew Ziobro and to the other individuals who were persecuted,”
he said.