President Duda “Pardon considering social sentiment… Immediate release”
Attorney General Bodnar tells president, “You can’t pardon him.”
President clashes with new government that seeks to establish the rule of law
Polish President Andrzej Duda pardoned his associates who were arrested this month, two weeks after their arrest. As a result, President Duda cannot avoid a direct conflict with the new government that was inaugurated last month following the change of government for the first time in eight years.
According to the Guardian on the 23rd (local time), President Duda issued a statement announcing the pardon of former Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski and former Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Boncic, who were arrested at the presidential palace on the 9th.
He said, “The decision on amnesty has come into effect. “The two people were pardoned,” he said. “They were always pardoned by me, but considering social unrest, we decided to start a new process.” “We appeal to the Attorney General to immediately release the two people.”
As the reason for the pardon, President Duda explained that he took into account the health issues of the two people and the sentiment of some sections of Polish society who support the Law and Justice Party (PiS), which has been in power for eight years. President Duda currently has no party affiliation, but is a member of the Law and Justice Party.
President Duda announced that he would release them the day after their arrest. President Duda claimed that the arrest of the two men he had pardoned was unjust.
Former Minister Kaminsky and former Deputy Minister Bonsik were found guilty by the court on charges of abuse of power while working at the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. President Duda pardoned them.
However, in June last year, Poland’s Supreme Court invalidated the pardon and ordered a retrial. As a result of the retrial, he was sentenced to two years in prison last month.
Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar, who also serves as Prosecutor General, lamented, “I expressed my opinion that the two should not be pardoned, but my opinion is not binding on the president.”
The Law Process and Justice Party has been criticized by the European Union (EU) for undermining the rule of law during its eight years in power. Due to continued conflict with the EU over the operation of the judicial system, the previous government had tens of billions of euros worth of funds frozen.
Prior to this incident, the Tusk government brought about a conflict with President Duda by suddenly replacing the management of state-run broadcasters and radios such as TVP and PAP, saying that it would reform broadcasting, which had been reduced to a government propaganda medium during the Law and Justice Party’s rule.
In addition, Minister Bodnar withdrew all six district court chiefs appointed by the former minister just before he left office. He instead sent a letter to the court judge, saying that if he proposed two or three candidates for the court chief, he would select the new court chief from among them.
At the time, President Duda strongly protested, saying, “This is completely illegal behavior,” and “This is anarchy.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.