The dismissal of Kamiński and Wąsik. Adam Bodnar commented on the president’s request
Adam Bodnar commented on Andrzej Duda’s request to dismiss Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik. – The president can still exercise his right of pardon – he said.
On Friday, Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar was asked by journalists whether he had already made a decision on Andrzej Duda’s request for a break in serving the sentence of PiS politicians sentenced by a final judgment.
– The President initiated the pardon procedure; he announced it publicly. Today I received the president’s decision on this matter from the National Prosecutor’s Office. This is a letter from January 11, in which Andrzej Duda maintains his position regarding the 2015 pardon. The President appeals to the Prosecutor General to grant a break in the execution of the sentence, said the Minister of Justice.
The prosecutor general initiated proceedings following the president’s request
Bodnar explained that in connection with the request, the Prosecutor General is obliged to initiate such proceedings and such proceedings were initiated by him. – The Prosecutor General is also responsible for requesting files of the proceedings and I am also taking these actions. At this stage, no other decisions have been made regarding the proceedings in this case, Bodnar added.
During Friday’s press conference, the Minister of Justice was asked about the reasons why, in his opinion, the president should have chosen this path of pardon. – The facts are that the president has the competence resulting from Art. 139 of the Constitution, i.e. the right of grace, and may exercise the right of grace at any time. He does not have to initiate separate proceedings with the KPK. Moreover, if we look at the previous pardon, it was carried out in accordance with this article – recalled Adam Bodnar.
Adam Bodnar: The president’s declaration makes me wonder
As he admitted, his “reflection” What is disturbing is Andrzej Duda’s declaration that he is maintaining the pardon from 2015 and the fact that Kamiński and Wąsik are still MPs. – I wonder if this means that the president does not recognize the final judgment of the court of second instance issued in this case, since he emphasizes that the gentlemen are MPs? – the prosecutor general continued.
Bodnar referred to Art. 568 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that “Recognizing that particularly important reasons support pardon, especially when it is justified by the short period of the remaining sentence, the court issuing the opinion and the Prosecutor General may suspend the execution of the sentence or order a break in its execution until the proceedings for pardon”.
– There is no question of suspending the execution of the sentence here, because the sentence is already being served. The question is what these particularly important reasons are and how it relates to the second part, “especially when the short period of the remaining sentence supports it.” I assume that in this situation it is difficult to talk about a short period, because we are at the beginning of the sentence, not at the end. (…) We are analyzing the doctrine and there are various comments indicating when the Attorney General may make such a decision. (…) It is necessary to assess how likely it is that after making the decision to suspend the execution of the sentence, there is an actual probability that the pardon will be granted – explained Adam Bodnar.
On Thursday, January 11, Andrzej Duda made a statement in which he announced the initiation of pardon proceedings against Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik. As the president emphasized, he decided to make such a move due to the request of the wives of PiS politicians. Presidential Minister Małgorzata Paprocka emphasized that the act of clemency from 2015 is still in force.
