Former minister to be charged by Prosecutor's Office for illegal vote
Mariusz Kaminski, the former interior minister in Poland's previous government, arrived at the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw on Thursday, to be charged with illegally taking part in a vote in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament.
On December 20, 2023, Kaminski and Maciej Wasik, his deputy, were convicted by the Regional Court in Warsaw and given two-year prison sentences for abuse of power while heading the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. They also received a five-year ban on holding public office.
But in a high-profile case, they were later pardoned by the president, and released from custody.
However, Szymon Holownia, the speaker of the Sejm, announced on December 21 that as a result of their convictions the two men could not take back their parliamentary seats as their convictions had nullified their mandates.
Nevertheless, both Kaminski and Wasik did take part in a vote on December 21 after they had heard their sentences.
"I've been summoned to the prosecutor's office in relation to my taking part in votes in the Sejm," Kaminski said. "I am treating this as a form of political repression."
He pointed out that his vote in the Sejm on December 21 occurred before the completion of the procedure to terminate his mandate and because, according to the law, he had the right to appeal against the decision of the Speaker of the Sejm to the Supreme Court.
"The votes, for which I am to be punished for, were part of my duties as an MP with an active mandate," he said. "In addition, I wish to remind everyone that I was informed by the Supreme Court on January 5 and again on April 12 that the decisions of Sejm Speaker Holownia had been overturned.
"I continue to be an MP," he added.
"The intended activities of the Prosecutor's Office against me are unlawful and seem to be politically motivated and on behalf of members of the Civic Platform party (the backbone party of the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk – PAP)," he said. (PAP)
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